


Starting Over

by Xmenfan33



Series: Fullmetal Dadchemist [5]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Blood and Violence, Character Death, Chimera experiment, Drama, Drinking to Cope, Ed is Harry's dad, Edward Elric Keeps Alchemy, Edward Elric Swears, Edward is a Colonel and sixteen, Edward stayed in military, Execution, Family, Harry Potter was Adopted by Other(s), Harry Potter was Raised by Other(s), Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Interrogation, Kidnapping, Multi, Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Parental Roy Mustang, Post-Promised Day, Post-War, Roy is Ed's dad, Some 03 elements Brotherhood universe, Torture, Underage Drinking, Yuery Elric is Harry Potter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:48:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 20
Words: 74,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27783991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xmenfan33/pseuds/Xmenfan33
Summary: Defeating an Immortal being trying to destroy them all was just the beginning. The hard part was going to be putting their lives, and Amestris, back together. In fact, between power struggles, conspiracies,wizards, reporters, and relationships some days defeating the Homunculus felt like the Easy part
Relationships: Alphonse Elric & Edward Elric, Edward Elric & Harry Potter, Edward Elric & Jean Havoc, Edward Elric & Riza Hawkeye, Edward Elric & Rosé Thomas, Edward Elric & Roy Mustang, Edward Elric/Winry Rockbell, Mei Chan | May Chang/Alphonse Elric, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, Riza Hawkeye/Roy Mustang
Series: Fullmetal Dadchemist [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1862371
Comments: 94
Kudos: 92





	1. Before We Begin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edward Elric had exactly Eighteen days before his new promotion and he was shackled to a desk. He had fourteen days until his son's second birthday. He had ten days before his fiancée arrived to move into the guest room. He had five days until his final fitting on his uniform. He had maybe twenty minutes until his Dad found his note and found out that Ed had, once again, done something impulsive and possibly foolish.

Before We Begin

Eastbound Train

6:00am

Edward Elric had exactly Eighteen days before his new promotion and he was shackled to a desk. He had fourteen days until his son's second birthday. He had ten days before his fiancée arrived to move into the guest room. He had five days until his final fitting on his uniform. He had maybe twenty minutes until his Dad found his note and found out that Ed had, once again, done something impulsive and possibly foolish.

It had all started when they had returned from Xing. Al had recovered nicely while they were gone, perhaps more so than seemed natural but Edward wasn't going to question it. He didn't want to know if using Hohenheim's stone had sped up the process because he was still angry with the man for what he had done. Everything was fine at first, Ed had even sort of forgotten their argument before he and Roy had left, but then as it turned out Al had talked to Teacher.

Teacher had caught Edward alone in the kitchen and demanded to know what was going on with Rose and her child, and with Winry. Ed admitted, in a less special way than he had intended but Teacher was scary, that he and Winry were engaged. As far as Rose went, all Ed knew was rumors. Teacher scoffed and demanded to know if Ed was the father of her child.

It was then that Ed knew that Al was never going to let it go. It didn't matter what Ed said, Al believed the rumors. It was Yuery all over again. Ed had told Teacher what little he knew, he told Dad what little he knew, and he told Al again the same. Al didn't even pretend he might believe him. Dad and Teacher both seemed to doubt him. That's what really hurt. He was used to Al by now, but that Al had managed to convince them… then he talked to Ms. Riza, and she had said. "I want to believe you."

So here he was, on a train, heading to Liore when he should be at home getting ready for the next stage of his life. He was going to hunt Rose down and he was going to make her tell the truth. He just wasn't sure how he was going to pull it off. At least Winry believed him. Mei seemed to have decided to stay out of the argument completely, locking herself in his library and refusing to come out until dinner.

Mustang-Elric Household

6:00 am

Roy knew something was off as soon as he opened his eyes. He wasn't sure what it was, but something was off in the house. He brushed it off, mostly. The few months had put them all on edge, and he hadn't been back home very long, and they hadn't had a pleasant homecoming, what with the boys fighting most of the evening.

The thing was, Roy was pretty sure he believed Ed that the child wasn't his, if for no other reason than he couldn't imagine Ed denying his own child. He had been surprised that Ed hadn't insisted on keeping Ping to be honest. He also wasn't sure he believed Ed that Ed had no idea Rose was telling people it was his child until Al told him. Again, it seemed like something Ed would do, lie to protect a child was right up there on the list things Ed has done without thinking it through.

Roy sighed. He climbed out of bed and headed to the bathroom, it wouldn't be long before Yuery was up, and Roy wanted to be dressed and ready so he could insist on taking over. He missed his old morning routine of spending breakfast with his grandson before work, and wanted to restart it as soon as possible.

Twenty minutes later, Roy headed to Ed's room to collect Yuery, who was likely up and chatting with Ed by now. Ed usually cuddled with the boy for awhile before Yuery insisted on getting out of bed. Roy listened at the door, but didn't hear anything, so either the boy had slept in or they were already downstairs. Roy shrugged and opened the door silently in case they were still sleeping.

The room was empty so he headed down to the kitchen to find them and start breakfast before Ed decided to do it himself. Roy knew there was something was wrong when he got downstairs and there was no sound. Even when Ed was trying to be quiet to let Al sleep there was sound. Ed's foot unless he wore thick socks clunked, and Yuery always talked about his morning.

The hallway smelled like coffee, so at some point Ed had been in the kitchen. Perhaps he and Yuery were out in the yard with the pets. Roy walked into the kitchen cautiously. It was empty, the back door was still locked, and there was a fresh pot of coffee on the stove. Roy also noticed the basket of muffins on the counter, and walked over to grab one while he thought. Next to the basket he found the note.

Dad,

Yuery and I are headed to Liore.

I need everyone to know the truth and it's the only thing I can think of.

I'm going to find Rose and make her tell you what really happened.

I'll be back in time for my final fitting.

Ed

Roy shook his head, now convinced that Ed was in fact telling the truth about all of it. Ed was most impulsive when he was trying to right a perceived wrong, which Roy fully intended to point out to his younger son as soon as the boy woke.

Roy started cooking the eggs and bacon. If he was going to get into an argument with his son, he wanted to feed the boy first. He was still to thin in Roy's opinion. Roy worried about both of his boys. He had worried about them before they were his, and if anything, he worried even more now.

Al arrived in the kitchen a little while after Roy had started the bacon, he was still in his pajamas and robe, and using his cane instead of the wheelchair. Roy wanted to smile at the sight but didn't want to send mixed signals and the boy needed a lecture. Al happily said good morning as he sat down, and Roy repeated it.

There was silence for a moment while Roy tried to decide how to begin. Al made it easier by asking where the others were. "Apparently, on a train to Liore."

"So he finally decided to do the right thing and go meet his son? I wasn't upset when he didn't know. Obviously that's happened to him before, but when he found out and went to Xing instead. That was terrible." Al said as he served himself from the platters on the table.

"This has gone on long enough." Roy said, frustration clear in his voice. "Alphonse, I once told your brother to let it go and let you think what you wanted to keep the peace between you. This was the wrong advice. I should have intervened long before now."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean your brother is not lying to you. He didn't lie to you two years ago and he's not lying now." Roy said with a sigh. "I arranged the paperwork myself. I know exactly what all of it said, Edward saved that child and then he brought him home and raised him as his own. He loves that child. That child was an orphan. Your brother witnessed their death."

"That makes no sense. What does that have to do with Rose anyway?" Al said.

"Let me ask you something first. When you were in Liore with Edward last year, how long was he gone before he met you in the room?"

"I don't know, maybe an hour?" Al said.

"So, you believe that your brother in just an hour managed to call and check in on Yuery, eat dinner, and seduce a girl?" Roy asked. "Keep in mind that this is Edward we are talking about here. The same boy who proposed by screaming in Winry's face about equivalent exchange. Think about it."

"Well…maybe she seduced him, and he's embarrassed by it."

"Or, he's telling you the truth and your denial has once again pushed him away, this time to the point that he feels he needs to bring you proof!" Roy said as he handed the note to Al. "Now, I can't force you to believe a damn thing, but you need to accept what your brother says when he gets back. I don't care if you believe him, make him think you do before it drives a wedge between you."

"Okay." Al said in a small voice, kind of surprised by the anger in Roy's voice. He had heard Dad mad before, especially at Ed, but he couldn't remember a time Dad was ever this mad at either one of them. Mei came in and waited by the doorway noticing the tension in the air. Roy waived her in and stood himself. He wished them a good day before heading out the door to get to the office.

Liore

5:00 pm

Edward had originally planned to go straight from the train to wherever it was he could find Rose. He wasn't sure where exactly, but he planned to check the church and the food stall… and then just kind of wander around town until he found her. It wasn't a good plan. It wasn't even a plan, more of a vague idea.

Yuery was hungry and tired, and cranky when they got off the train, so Ed changed the plan. He went to the hotel to rent a room for the night and get his son something to eat. His son came first, as usual. Once they were seated in the dining room, after dropping off their bags in their room.

Ed sighed tiredly, as he picked Yuery up and sat him back in his chair for the third time since they ordered. Hopefully the food arrived soon. "Down, Dada."

"No." Ed said as he forced the child back into his chair for the fourth time.

"Uggggh. Down. Dada." Yuery said even louder as he tried to climb down again.

"Yuery Alphonse Mustang Elric. Do not move." Edward said in his sternest tone.

"NOOOOOOOO" Yuery cried but stayed in place.

"Long trip?" the waitress asked as she finally dropped off their plates.

"Yeah, and we had just gotten back from a longer one. I think he's just worn out." Ed said as the boy started eating his noodles happily no longer trying to escape. Ed started eating as well, he wanted to eat as much as possible while the boy was distracted.

"I couldn't help but overhear you. Are you Edward Elric?" the waitress asked.

"Yes I am." Ed said with a sigh. He didn't really want to know what that was about, not this late in a very long day.

"Are you here to finally come back for Rose?"

"Do you know Rose?" Ed asked, hoping this would shorten his search.

"I remember seeing you with her last year, You were wearing a red coat that time." She said and Ed looked down at his grey sweater and jeans. He had decided to travel lowkey in hopes of not being noticed. He'd been in the papers several times over the last few weeks. "I could call her and let you know you're here looking for her. How wonderful, she kept telling everyone you wouldn't be back, and yet here you are! Oh she has the best surprise for you too."

Ed assumed the girl meant Rose's son. He sighed heavily as the woman already disappeared. At least he wouldn't have to go looking. Hopefully. Yuery had finished his noodles, and refused the pieces of chicken. Ed pushed some of his own noodles onto the boy's plate and taken the bits of meat the boy refused. He wasn't in the mood to fight with the boy today.

Before long the girl came back to ask if they needed anything else before adding that Rose was okay with him going over to see her and handing Ed a piece of paper with an address. Ed thanked her, debating if he should go right over or wait until morning. Yuery's mood had improved after eating and it would probably help him sleep tonight if he got to walk around for a while after spending the whole day on the train.

Edward thought he might sleep better after a walk himself, especially if he could get this matter settled tonight. Decided, Edward took Yuery to wash his hands and face then walked out of the hotel, leaving a tip at the table and signing the bill to his room.

As Edward walked down the street he noticed the changes to the town from the last time he was here. They had rebuilt, but he could tell it had been rebuilt. There was still some damage here and there, but the real difference was the people. Ed wouldn't have called them overly friendly the first time he was here, now though they looked gaunt skittish worn.

Worse, about a block and a half from the address he had been given, he saw a group of men and women heckling a girl about nineteen. She was crying and clutching a baby to her chest, as the people around her called her names and told her she didn't belong there.

Ed looked down at his son… he couldn't just let this go, but he couldn't endanger his child either. With a sigh he decided to mimic his Dad. Ed picked up the boy so he wouldn't get trampled by the crowd before he walked into the crowd and calmly said "Is there a problem here?"

One man, who he recognized as the guy who ran the little food stand, stepped forward. "I recognize you. You're that boy that Rose was running around with that told us the preacher was a fraud. Good man. Rose'll be happy to see you again."

"That's nice. Why are you all attacking this girl?" Ed said as he stood in front of the young mother, Yuery looking them all with wide eyes.

"She's a sympathizer. Went and had one of those Bastards spawn." The man said. Ed rolled his eyes, and asked the girl if she was okay.

The crowd seemed torn, but remembering what the boy was capable of, and how his father and brother had helped with the restoration, they decided to disperse. Ed then turned to the girl and asked her if she was alright. "I hate this town. I would have left like Sarah and Leah, but I can't afford a train ticket let alone somewhere to stay once I get there."

Ed nodded, thinking fast. He had a rough plan, more an idea than anything. "Hey, it's okay. I want you to meet me here tomorrow afternoon around three, to talk about a way to get you out of here. Are there any other girls stuck here like you?"

"No. Sarah and Leah left, and Rose managed to fly under their radar. She had some guy who –"

"I know. I'll see you tomorrow, please stay safe until then." Ed said, cutting her off. He just realized as he walked away that his plan of action changed in the last five minutes.

He couldn't ask Rose to tell the truth and open herself up to that kind of abuse. He had to get her and that other girl out of here first, then get her to tell the truth. Then he could get them help, and finally… he didn't care. This was going to be his first priority in his new office. The soldiers who ruined this town needed to be punished, and the townspeople needed to stop taking it out on the victims. Well, he fixed the town once, he could do it again.

He set Yuery back down and let the boy walk the rest of the way to the apartment building he was looking for, but carried him up the stairs not wanting to wait for the child to climb them himself. He took a steadying breath and knocked on the door. A young girl, with long white hair opened it. Ed smiled down at her and asked for Rose.

Rose came out of the back, telling the girl to invite them in. Ed closed the door behind him, and after a quick glance around to be sure the room was relatively baby safe set Yuery down. "Hey Rose. Heard you had trouble."

"Hello Edward. Not as much as some of the others. I assume Winry talked to you?"

"I know about William, yes." Edward said. Rose nodded and gestured for him to sit down. Before he could say anything Rose nodded to the girl who disappeared into the other room, returning moments later with a baby and a young boy. The boy, like the girl, was clearly Ishbalan, with his white hair and red eyes. The baby however, was Rose's child. He had lighter skin than the other two, but dark brown, almost black hair and dark blue eyes. Ed smiled at the baby and said. "Hello William. I'm sorry I don't know your names." He added to the girl.

"Hannah." Rose said, then gestured to the boy. "Daniel."

"Hey, Hannah. Would you like to play with Yuery for me for just a little bit?" Ed asked with a friendly smile.

"Miss Rose?" the girl asked quietly.

"Go on, Hannah. This is Edward, I told you he was coming." Rose said. The girl nodded again and led both Yuery and Daniel over to the far corner where there was a box of toys. Ed and Rose sat in silence for a moment before she said "I know why you're here and I'm sorry Edward, but if I tell the truth do you know what would happen to my children?"

"I met a girl nearby. No met is the wrong would. I saved a girl who was being attacked by her own people. I know what the risk of staying in this town is costing you Rose." Ed said with a sigh. "Tomorrow afternoon, at three o'clock, meet me on the corner with the other girl. Bring all three children, and whatever you can't afford to leave behind. I'm getting you all out of this town, and then I'm going to punish the men that hurt you…as long as they survived Promised Day."

Ed collected his son and was about to leave when he stopped to ask the other girl's name. Rose said her name was Maddie and her baby's name was Ella. Ed nodded and thanked her before disappearing out the door after asking her to tell Maddie to bring what she wanted to keep like he had said to her. Rose agreed, with that Ed and Yuery disappeared into the quickly gathering shadows.

It was then he realized what he had done again. He had come here on a whim, now he was bringing back half a dozen people back to Central with him and had no real plan beyond that. He was going to fix this though. He made a promise to himself and his Dad that they were going to make this place better than what Bradly and Father had made it, and this was the first step.

Hotel

8:00 pm

Ed dialed the number in Rush Valley quietly, while Yuery clung half asleep to his hip. Ed could tell Dad about what was happening when he got back to the city, but he needed to tell Winry now before hit the papers and perhaps they should leave before the paper noticed anything.

Winry answered as usual and Ed said a very quiet hello in return, as the toddler drifted closer to sleep. Winry sighed heavily before asking him if he had broken his leg. He assured her it was fine, before taking a deep breath. "Okay. So, AL refused to believe I was anything short of a total jerk who just randomly has kids all over the place like Him. So I got sick of it and Yuery and I hoped on the train out to Liore because Rose was the start of this issue."

"Oh Ed, you didn't cause trouble for her did you?" Winry asked, concerned.

"No. Not exactly The thing is it won't take long for the papers to catch this now that they all know my face so I wanted to tell you first. This place is a nightmare, so I may have asked a couple of women and their kids to come home to Central with me…"

"And now they're going to be writing about your harem?" Winry said with amusement.

"Shut up. Probably. So I wanted to let you know what was happening first."

"Paninya has room. If either of them need it, or both of them. She was just talking about how much it was going to suck to have to look for a new room mate."

"Thanks, I'll be sure to pass on the offer." Ed said.

"Thanks Ed. And thanks for calling about something other than an injury. How's Yuery?"

"Cranky. It's been a long day. Tomorrow's gonna be just as bad."

"Have you talked to your Dad yet?"

"Nope. This is one of those 'explain in person' situations."

"Good luck. Hopefully you won't be grounded until the wedding."

"We still need to set a date for that.

"It wouldn't stop him from grounding you until then."

"Well, technically, I'm supposed to be grounded right now." Ed said with a laugh. "I gotta go, Mr. Cranky is asleep and I need to lie him down before he wakes up. Love you see you soon."

"I love you too, and don't worry so much about what your brother thinks. He'll grow up soon."

"Not soon enough on this one."

Ed hung up, hating to say goodbye yet but meaning it about putting his son to bed. It was nice to know that at least one person in his life trusted him and believed him. The next few weeks were probably not going to help matters. At least with his brother.

Upstairs, Ed laid the baby down before pulling out his journal to begin planning. There was a lot to do here. He needed to help this place, he needed to help these women, and he needed to fix the rift between him and Al.

Mustang-Elric Residence

11:00pm

Roy was sitting in his study, filling out paperwork that had to be turned in by the end of the week. He no longer felt it necessary to hide and otherwise delay paperwork, but he had been gone several weeks and the work had piled up. Hawkeye had been with him, so there hadn't been anyone there to keep everyone in line either. His other adjutant, whom he still couldn't name, had been left in charge of the office while they were gone.

The man had done an adequate job, but he was no Hawkeye. Roy was just going to have to get used to him though, because Riza had recently taken a gar more important role in his life, by his side instead of at his back. He didn't know how long he would be allowed to keep her in his office now though. Perhaps he could have her placed in Ed's instead?

Roy was sidetracked from this thought process by the knock on his door and arrival of his younger son. Alphonse hobbled slowly to the chair, using the cane as little as possible, before sitting delicately. Over the five years he had been a suit of armor he had learned to do everything delicately to avoid breaking furniture and people. It was now ingrained in him so that even though at this point he could hardly lift a chair, let alone break one, he still treated everything around him like it was made of spun glass.

Roy smiled at the boy, to ensure that the now fifteen year old knew that Roy was happy for the interruption. Al sighed deeply. "I think I messed everything up Dad."

"…That's usually Edward's line." Roy said as he set down the pen and gave Al his full attention.

"I… He's been telling me the truth this whole time hasn't he?" Al said as he picked at a loose string on his shirt.

"Yes. He has. I have never seen Ed actually lie to you about anything Al. In fact, if he can't tell you something about a case or anything, he tends to just tell you he's busy or doesn't want to talk about it."

"He really did save Yuery's life?"

"Yes."

"So Yuery really isn't his son."

"I didn't say that. Yuery's as much his son as you and Ed are mine, or Ping and Huan are Ling's. But no, he didn't create the child."

"I talked to Winry earlier. Rose explained the whole thing to her. Ed isn't William's father, either is he?"

"No, he isn't. Though if it became necessary, I'm sure he would just as he is for Yuery."

"I think I owe my brother a lot of apologies."

"Start by telling him you believe him. That may be the only apology you need. Now get to bed, it's late and you're still healing." With that Roy waived the boy away and picked back up his pen. He hoped Al did as he was told, Al still had a way to go before he was back to normal size and strength even with Mei adding some therapies to his treatments.

Two Days Later

Mustang- Elric Residence

2:00 am

Edward had arranged for Maddie and her daughter Ella to continue on to Rush Valley, but Rose preferred the idea of Central. She had assured Ed that she would find a job and get back on her feet quickly, though he assured her that though he fully expected her to move forward as he had told her before, he did not want to rush her into her housing choices.

He had explained that he and his Dad were both officers, Maddie was not comfortable with that, but Rose seemed on the fence. Ed assured her that if it was too hard on her, he would find different housing for her like her had for Maddie. He had also called for a car, something he almost never did, but wasn't going to have these children walking that far in the middle of the night.

When they finally arrived at his home, he was very tired. He offered to carry Daniel inside but Hannah insisted she could carry her brother. It wasn't far so Ed gave up the argument. He was carrying Yuery and several bags. Rose carried William and the remaining bags as Ed unlocked the front door and let them all inside as he informed them that they needed to take off their shoes because his dad insisted.

Hannah was forced to finally put Daniel down to take off their shoes, much to Ed's relief. He wasn't looking forward to fighting with the child over the safety of carrying the boy up the stairs. They were all being relatively quiet, but it was still six people in the foyer at two in the morning. A light came on at the top of the stairs, and moments later his dad, Roy Mustang appeared on the staircase.

"I thought I heard your voice Edward." Dad said as he came down the stairs, before freezing when he saw all the people with his son who looked sheepish. Roy sighed. "Do we need to look for a bigger place?"

"I don't think so, maybe?" Ed said as he scratched his head. "I'm pretty sure this is temporary but I don't have a real plan yet."

"I would be surprised if you had. Hello, I'm Ed's Dad, Roy Mustang." Roy said turning to the guests, before noticing that two of them were Ishbalan. He froze for half a second, long enough for Ed to notice, but not long enough that anyone else had. Ed felt stupid, it had never occurred to him to worry about Roy's reaction, spending too much time worried about Rose. It would have to wait for sun up though because he didn't have enough energy to worry about it tonight.


	2. When Mama Comes Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He only had to wait a few minutes before the train arrived, but in that short timeframe he became aware of Jean Havoc standing next to him. "Havoc. Why are you here, waiting for someone?"
> 
> "No, well, no one but Ms. Rockbell. In light of the press, and previous encounters with random violence, Lt. Colonel Hawkeye felt it was best that I join you as your adjutant. She also said we both might as well get used to it and it was my job to make sure you didn't die and finish your paperwork."
> 
> "I would love to argue with you over this, but it's Hawkeye. Fine, just don't get in my way. I'm going to have to make a speech, and I don't need you tripping up."
> 
> "Yes, Sir. Very Good ,Sir."
> 
> "…I'm going to enjoy this almost as much as automail replacement."

When Mama Comes Home

Mustang-Elric Residence

6:00 am

Winry was scheduled to arrive in just two hours, and Ed was excited. Al was too, and Mei, but Ed was a ball of nervous energy. It was early, even for the crowd of early risers, but they were all up and dressed. Roy was making breakfast as usual, while Al entertained Yuery and Mei read one of the books Ed had offered her from his personal library.

Rose, Hannah, Daniel and her baby, William had not come down yet, presumably still sleeping. Ed was out in the yard with the pets. Part of what had Ed so on edge was the Rose situation. The press had gotten ahold of the idea that she must be his mystery fiancée and run with it. His staff had officially denied the claim several times since she arrived, but it didn't seem to help. Luckily, Winry seemed to find it amusing, though Ed was annoyed the press even cared.

Then there was Rose herself. She had assured him that living with Roy Mustang for however long it took to get on her feet wouldn't be a problem for her, but it was. She avoided Roy. She would not speak to him directly unless she absolutely had to, and even then her answers were brief and formal. Ed needed to find a way to get her into a new stable place both financially and mentally because the tension was driving them all mad.

There was also the matter of his promotion and new responsibilities. As it turned out, he was in the wrong department to deal with Liore. When he learned this, he almost demanded a transfer, however the big picture held him in place, along with the knowledge that Colonel Armstrong was looking into the border occupations. He trusted Armstrong to handle it correctly. The man was like a big marshmallow wrapped around a steel-trap. He still didn't like it, and asked that Roy keep him informed on the progress. Roy agreed.

Roy had had a hard time with Hannah and Daniel the first day or two. They were Ishbalan, which triggered his not so buried guilt. However, as he pointed out himself, if he wanted to spearhead the movement to restore Ishbal then he was going to have to find a way around those feelings and work with their people.

He handled it well, instead of focusing on how these children were orphaned, he focused on them being children. He sat with them and read Hannah stories and played with Daniel like he would Elicia and Yuery. He bonded with them quickly. It may have helped that Daniel's young age meant there was no chance he had been the cause of their loss, but it was mostly just spending time with them.

They had settled into what would eventually be Al's room once he was strong enough. Mei was staying in the guest room. That left only one problem with Winry's impending arrival. Where she going to stay. Al and Mei both suggested she just stay in Ed and Yuery's room, which after some debate Roy reluctantly agreed was the best solution at the moment. Yuery's future bedroom was currently the playroom. Honestly, Roy was already making plans to expand the house if not move again.

Now that his son was engaged, the house would get too small to soon, then they were hosting the Xingese Princess for however long she was here. Possibly the second Princess as well, as long as she and Ed could be civil, which Roy doubted, when she came to study under Mei. That wouldn't take more than a few months.

He wanted to bring it up to his sons again, but aside from his statement when Rose and the children first arrived he hadn't said anything. Edward in particular seemed resistant to the idea of moving. He had complained about the house being bigger than their old one, and the staff that came with having a bigger home and higher rank.

Really, in a way he would be doing Ed a favor to move up bit by bit, because once Roy was Fuhrer he would have to live in the mansion. It was expected, tradition that none of the advisors seemed willing to part with. It was a problem for another day, however. Today they had to get Winry here without the press having a field day, which was frankly unavoidable. There had been too many pictures published with her at Edward's side during their trip to Xing. It was part of the reason that Rose's arrival had caused so much scandal.

Somehow, only one paper had suggested that Rose was Roy's new lover instead of Ed's. On one hand, he was grateful as it wouldn't do to have public opinion of him shift at this point. On the other hand, it was a shame his son was the subject of such negative rumors. It was hardly the first time, for either one of them. Roy planned to call his mother's people at some point this weekend to get it started on the corrections.

After all, it wasn't too late to re-spin the whole thing to make Edward look like the hero he was. All it would take was the truth for a change. He had gone to check in on an old friend, only to find she had become a victim of Bradly's reign. The press was picking up these stories daily at this point. Now that Bradley was gone and the shock had recovered, everyone wanted to throw their hand in on the 'what Bradley did to us' circus.

Rose and the children appeared in the doorway, as Edward and the pets re-entered the room, as if summoned by his need to speak to them both. Alphonse and Mei had both already eaten, so, sensing the tension, offered to take the kids all into the library for awhile while breakfast was made for them.

Once the children were out of the way, Roy asked that the others sat to have a short talk with him before they fed the crowd. Both sat on either side of him, and seemed to think they were going to be in trouble. He assured them they weren't which made them relax before continuing "We need to get a handle on the press before they ruin not only Edward's reputation but Ms. Rockbell's." Roy began knowing what Ed would have said about his own, but that he would do anything to protect Winry's " I think, as long as Ms Thomas is willing, Edward should address them directly,, and tell the truth. Or a version of it. He will tell them you and your children are staying with Edward while you get back on your feet. That you are among those who were displaced by Bradley's warmongering."

"No one can know about William." Rose said quietly. "I'm sorry, I don't want to cause trouble for Edward and Winry, but no one can know."

"We won't say anything about William one way or the other, just you." Roy said. "All Edward has to do is when he picks Winry up in an hour, address the press when they question you. Tell them . 'I'm afraid you have been misinformed. Ms. Rockbell is my fiancée. Ms. Thomas is an old family friend, who after being displaced by the border skirmishes, is staying with our family for a few weeks.' Then walk away without giving anything else. I will have an official press release written up to be released on Monday."

"Okay. That's fine then." Rose said with a nod. Ed shrugged as he mouthed the short speech his dad had just given him to use because it was exactly what he would say and nothing else.

"Have you set a date yet?" Roy asked.

"Not yet, we've barely had time to talk the last few weeks. I'm busy setting up my new office, she's busy closing down her part of the shop. With her being here we'll finally have time to talk about it though."

Central Station

Edward had agreed to a car. Winry would have a lot of luggage, now that she was moving instead of visiting, and the walk was much further than it would have been if Ed was still in the dorms or a hotel. He sighed heavily when he saw the reporters in front of the station. Whoever was leaking information to the press needed to be found now.

It wasn't the matter of his private life, he didn't care what they wanted to think they knew about him. Now that AL was flesh and blood again, no one could prove anything. Plus his worthless Father had brought AL back in front of what felt like half the military so it was hardly a secret anymore.

No, it was a matter of security. If they were willing to spread around exactly where he would be and when, what was to stop them from selling Ed, or Roy out to an enemy that could then hit them from a distance. Ed did not survive punching a want-a-be god in the face just to be taken down by a random bullet.

Taking a deep breath, Ed strode into the station without pausing. He would give his speech, but he wasn't making Winry wait for him to pick her up while he did it, she was going to be by his side because if he had to face the press he was going to make it worth it and promote Winry's business. As far as he was concerned she was the best mechanic in the country and deserved more fame.

He only had to wait a few minutes before the train arrived, but in that short timeframe he became aware of Jean Havoc standing next to him. "Havoc. Why are you here, waiting for someone?"

"No, well, no one but Ms. Rockbell. In light of the press, and previous encounters with random violence, Lt. Colonel Hawkeye felt it was best that I join you as your adjutant. She also said we both might as well get used to it and it was my job to make sure you didn't die and finish your paperwork."

"I would love to argue with you over this, but it's Hawkeye. Fine, just don't get in my way. I'm going to have to make a speech, and I don't need you tripping up."

"Yes, Sir. Very Good ,Sir."

"…I'm going to enjoy this almost as much as automail replacement."

Havoc laughed but otherwise didn't comment. He agreed with the kid. It was odd enough when there was a twelve year old who technically outranked him, now he was standing next to a sixteen year old who was his direct commander. His mother was going to be so unhappy when he finally got around to telling her he had been reinstated. Which he should probably do today, since there was very little chance he was going to avoid being seen during Ed's short press conference.

Before either man could say anything ese Winry appeared in the doorway and waived happily before rushing toward them. Ed hugged her, but wasn't given much choice with they force that she slammed into him, it was hug her or let them both fall over. He was laughing at her antics anyway. Havoc was laughing at them both, as he waived a hand and Ross and Broch appeared to collect Winry's luggage.

"Hey, why are you all here?" Winry asked before Ed could.

"Benefit of his new rank and office. Ed has minions now." Havoc said with a wink. "Don't worry, we have the office nearly unpacked Boss man will be all set when he starts next week."

"Ugh, don't remind me." Ed groaned. "And I always had minions. Dad told me from the first day if I needed to borrow any of you just let him know. Now I just have minions who stalk me."

"Greed would be so proud." Winry said. She hadn't gotten to know Greed herself, only meeting him once, but she'd heard plenty of stories from Ed and Ling. "Ling would be too."

"Well, let's go get this press thing over with. I wanted to get home before too long so we could catch Al and Yuery before naptime. Yuery is going to be so excited to see you!"

"Aww, and you're not?"

"Naw. I'm just waiting for the smack on the head." Ed said with a laugh. "Of course, I'm excited. I missed you while you were gone."

Mustang-Elric Residence

Yuery was playing with Hannah on the floor in the living room, when Winry and Ed walked in the door. He looked up before yelling "MAMA" and jumped to his feet running to Winry. Winry scooped him up and spun him around happily.

"Oh, I missed you baby. Were you good for Daddy and Yeye?" Winry asked and Yuery shook his head no but refused to let go of her even when she sat down.

"He's very good, most of the time." Hannah offered as she began cleaning up the toys around her. "Daniel and I love him."

"I'm glad to hear that, and it's very nice to see you again Hannah. How have you been?" Winry said with a smile

"A lot better now that we're here. We don't have to hide inside all of the time anymore, and Miss Rose seems a lot happier away from the mean people. William is happy too, I think."

"I'm glad you are all doing better." Winry said but refrained from saying anything else about the situation. She didn't know how much they had told the girl, but from what Ed had said on the drive over, he wasn't going to lead the investigation that would be Armstrong. He wasn't overly happy about it going to Armstrong, but only because he wanted to handle it.

Apparently, it was decided that Ed was too close to the situation. Being friends with one of the victims, and the rumors being as they were, it was decided that Ed wasn't involved because it wasn't his department and if he was listed as involved someone would claim they had mistreated the case. It was frustrating to him, but he also agreed that his new department was just as important.

He was taking over the labs. He had free reign to immediately shut down and if necessary arrest anyone who was running dangerous experiments. It wasn't going to be pleasant, but it was what it was. Winry was distracted by the sound of the front door opening and closing. Everyone who lived here was in the room, so she was confused and concerned. Ed saw her expression and said "It's okay. It's just the maid Dad insisted we needed."

"Oh. I think I remember you mentioning that. She doesn't live here does she?" Winry asked trying to remember everything Ed had said.

"No. I don't think Dad would be anymore comfortable than I am sleeping with a stranger in the house." Ed said before noticing Rose's frown. "You aren't a stranger Rose. You're a friend."

The maid poked her head in the room, and noticed it was full, before starting toward the kitchen instead. Roy called her back to introduce her to Winry, who greeted the woman with a smile. Ms. Bella, as she had asked Al to address her, greeted them all before offering to wait to clean the living room until they had finished. Ed waived her off and told her not to worry about it today. Ms. Bella took note of who all was in the room, including the new one, before leaving to finish her cleaning as quickly as possible.

Hogwarts

Early Evening

Headmaster's Office

Professors Snape and McGonagall had been summoned to meet with Dumbledore this evening at dinner. Since the school term had ended, and the next term wouldn't be starting for a few weeks, now seemed the best time to talk about Harry.

Dumbledore had not yet arrived, so the two teachers sat in silence. Neither was very comfortable with the situation, not knowing for sure how much the other knew about Harry Potter or the Order. Snape had never been to an Order meeting, as he had been acting as an undercover agent for almost a year before the end of the war. He hadn't been told anything of the group. At the time Dumbledore assured him it was to keep him safe should Voldemort question him. At the time, Snape didn't believe him and now he trusted him even less.

Only Dumbledore's assurance that the boy lived brought him here, and he wanted proof before he got too deep into whatever the other man was planning. He didn't trust the man anymore, not after he failed to protect the Potters.

McGonagall for her part assumed there had to be some reason why Dumbledore trusted that Snape was truly a former Death Eater and not an enemy agent. She didn't know how much Dumbledore was trusting Snape with however, and she wasn't going to tell him anything that could possibly upset the plans to keep the boy safe. It was bad enough they had lost James and Lily. Had thought until recently they had lost Harry as well.

Dumbledore came into the office a few tense minutes later, and frowned at them both. "Minerva, Severus, I am going to be relying on you both to help me keep the boy safe and secret for the next few years, but that can not be accomplished if you can not work together."

Both nodded at him, before he decided to further clear the air in order to hopefully get them comfortable with each other. "I understand. I shall tell you both everything I know so far so that you know which parts the other knows. Do avoid interrupting, especially if it's a part you already know. Feel free to relax. This could take a while."

When both teachers had joined him in soft armchairs around the fire, Dumbledore began. " A few years ago, Severus came to me with a plot Voldemort had intended to hatch, removing a threat he perceived based on a prophesy. The Potters, and the Longbottoms, were in great danger with the births of their sons. According to the prophesy one of these boys was the key to defeating him. With Severus' help we were about to discover most of his plan, and I put people in place to keep the boys safe. Unfortunately, the Potters were betrayed, by one of James' friends. As a result, both James and Lily died. We had feared the boy had died as well, though we hadn't found the body. Recently, Harry Potter registered on his Trace. Briefly. Very briefly, but long enough for us to realize he is hidden somewhere on the hidden continent."

"Where? I assume you already sent someone to confirm the boy's safety?" Snape said.

"Yes, he's perfectly safe and appears happy. He is staying with a young alchemist and his family. I have placed a couple of agents close to them to ensure the boy is being well cared for, but so far that doesn't seem to be a problem. Minerva has agreed to go undercover to check on the boy as well. Which is part of the reason I called you in. As it turns out the family's trip abroad seems to have ended and they have returned home. You may leave as soon as you're ready. For your part Severus, at the moment we need to work together to ensure your covers are not blown." Dumbledore before sighing deeply. "What I need from you Severus is to go back around those still free and ensure that none have found out that the boy lives."

"I will leave as soon as possible, if you would arrange a port key?" Minerva responded as she stood and Dumbledore nodded. Snape nodded to them both then left the room, to head part of the way to town before leaving to check on the others. Especially the Malfoys.

Once the others were gone, Dumbledore relaxed, pleased with himself that he was able to find a new plan in the ruins of the old one. Once word got out the boy was still alive it would greatly improve morale. They would need it, because much like young Harry, Voldemort would be back as well. It wasn't a matter of if, it was a matter of when.


	3. Yuery turns 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ed groaned loudly. He lost. They had adopted a second cat. How did these things happen to him? More importantly, why was he the 'impulsive' one? The rest of them were just as bad! "Fine. Let it in, but if it decides to disappear on its own we aren't looking for it. It's not a housecat… and we aren't naming it."
> 
> 10:00 am
> 
> Roy was holding the cat instead of stringing streamers.
> 
> 10:15
> 
> Roy had all three pets in his lap
> 
> 10:30
> 
> Ed heard him call the new one Fluffy.
> 
> This was when he gave up and climbed the ladder.
> 
> 1:00 pm
> 
> Ed was still glaring at the cats as he pulled the last of the mini turnover out of the oven. He ignored his Dad when the man asked if he was sure he was alright. He hadn't fallen that far, and it was really Dad's fault for letting the pets distract him. Ed had a lovely bump on his head which hurt when he moved wrong but otherwise, he was fine.

Yuery turns 2

Mustang-Rockbell-Elric Residence

9:00 am

The papers had all published the photos of Ed standing next to Winry and quoted his speech regarding his engagement. Then Grumman had sent a fruit basket with a congratulations note that said he looked forward to attending the wedding. Ed was less than thrilled with this message to say the least. "We haven't set a date yet and this is already turning into a circus!" Ed said to Roy while the elder man calmly sipped his morning coffee and read the paper.

"It was bound to happen Edward. He hasn't started pressuring you to set a date yet, so there's that. He's been pressuring me to set a date for close to ten years now." Roy said as he turned the page. "Just ignore him."

"You weren't even dating ten years ago?" Ed said, coming out more of a question than a statement.

"Exactly." Roy said before folding the paper. "Every week during our chess match at some point he asks me when I plan to make his granddaughter first lady. Since I was a major. Every. Week. He's almost as bad as Maes was. Sometimes we just have to ignore them and assume they are insane."

"Well…I'm not letting the government take over my wedding. Ling managed to avoid it and he's the Emperor! I'm nobody, it shouldn't matter."

"You are NOT 'nobody' Ed. Even if you somehow lost your Gate and retired to Resembool you would still be important. You still saved the world and it's not something they are going to forget anytime soon." Roy said, and Ed snorted even as he shuddered at how scarily accurate that was, since that was what he had been prepared to do to get his brother back.

"Anyway." Ed said. "He wasn't invited to the party this afternoon was he?"

"Invited? No. Coming? Probably." Roy said, and chuckled when Ed groaned loudly as he ruffled the boy's hair. A feat Roy could no longer accomplish unless Ed was sitting or laying down. Over the last few months the boy had grown enough that they were the same height. "Come on Colonel, finish your breakfast so we can get going on the party preparations."

"Ugh. Can we go one day without reminding me!"

"No. I allowed you to get away with telling people not to address you as Major because you weren't leading your own team, and frankly it made people uncomfortable to be reminded that a child was their superior. Now you have your own team, you have to get used to them addressing you properly."

"Fine. Whatever. General." Ed said before finally turning his attention to his eggs which have gotten cold. He really didn't want to eat them, but knew his dad would give him even more grief over letting them go like that.

Winry and Rose had taken the children and Al over to Gracia's to give Ed and Roy time to set up for the party. Ed needed to get to work on his son's birthday and stop obsessing over what the papers and Fuhrer were saying. With a heavy sigh he glanced out the window. "Oh for the love of- That cat's out there again! How does it even get back there?"

"Who knows? It's a cat. Maybe we should just let it in. Cobalt could use a companion."

"No! I told Al ONE. One. Plus it gives me the creeps. Cobalt has a companion anyway. Franklin the Great."

"Franklin is a dog. A wonderful dog, but still a dog. She's not a proper companion for Cobalt."

"Yeah sure, next you'll be saying we need a second dog because Cobalt isn't a proper companion for Franklin." Ed said, and Roy perked up. "No, Dad. How am I the adult in this situation? No. We have two pets that's enough."

"Well, we should at least give it some water."

"If you feed a cat it becomes your cat."

"…"

"You're trying to sneak in another cat. How long have you been feeding it."

"I haven't fed it anything. Al, Winry, Rose , and Hannah have."

Ed groaned loudly. He lost. They had adopted a second cat. How did these things happen to him? More importantly, why was he the 'impulsive' one? The rest of them were just as bad! "Fine. Let it in, but if it decides to disappear on its own we aren't looking for it. It's not a housecat… and we aren't naming it."

10:00 am

Roy was holding the cat instead of stringing streamers.

10:15

Roy had all three pets in his lap

10:30

Ed heard him call the new one Fluffy.

This was when he gave up and climbed the ladder.

1:00 pm

Ed was still glaring at the cats as he pulled the last of the mini turnover out of the oven. He ignored his Dad when the man asked if he was sure he was alright. He hadn't fallen that far, and it was really Dad's fault for letting the pets distract him. Ed had a lovely bump on his head which hurt when he moved wrong but otherwise, he was fine.

The guests would be arriving any moment, and the women would be back with Yuery in about twenty minutes so even if he wasn't fine, he was fine until after the party. Before Roy could commit suicide via irate teenager by asking for a third time if Ed needed a doctor, the first of the guests arrived. The cats had wandered off somewhere, but Franklin was underfoot so Ed put her outside so he wouldn't end up knocked over again somehow.

His new team all arrived together. Sheska and Havoc, Ross and Broch, along with Havoc's new girlfriend, Rebecca. Ed resisted the idea of Rebecca being there at first because he didn't want a random guest at his son's party who they'd never see again but Dad assured him that Rebecca was actually an old friend of Riza's, which Ed took to mean she was going to be around awhile even if they broke up.

1:30

Roy's team, including his new adjutant (who he still couldn't name), Riza Hawkeye, Breda, Falman, and Fuery arrived moments before Winry, Rose, Gracia and the children. Ed had quickly taken over Yuery, to greet the remaining guests and Winry went with the others to greet everyone who had already arrived.

So far, it was their teams, and for reasons Ed may never understand the Tringham brothers. How Roy knew Russell had been very unclear, but he greeted them as if they had met before. Izumi and Sig Curtis had also already arrived, as had Pinako Rockbell. Izumi was slightly less hostile to Roy this year than she was last year. She had watched him do his best to protect those boys during the battle and he had been blinded. This was when she had finally accepted that he did truly care about them.

He was still military however, and he had still talked Ed into remaining military, so she didn't completely forgive him. She was mostly just ignoring him in favor of speaking quietly to Mei about their countries different alchemies. Mei, who had stayed home but hidden in her room until the horrible crashing when Ed fell, was always happy to talk Alchemy.

As semi-predicted, Fuhrer Grumman arrived a few minutes later, with both General and Colonel Armstrong in tow. When Ed saw the amount of press that had followed them, he decided to get the party started before reporters got a chance to crash as well. He carried Yuery back into the living room, then set him down to go join the other children until it was time to fill him full of sugar and new toys.

Dad had agreed to take Yuery for the night after Ed's fall, so that he could recover. He'd insisted. So, the meanspirited part of Ed that was still the teenager he pretended he no longer was, was totally okay with the idea of his Dad having to deal with a sugar hyped toddler amused him. After all, if Dad had been helping like he'd promised Ed wouldn't have fallen, and it would be Ed dealing with a hyper toddler later.

Winry joined him as he watched Yuery go straight over to the other children, and Hannah lift the boy to her hip while talking to Elicia without missing a beat. He smiled at the sight, the girl clearly loved children, and was so kind hearted. He hoped desperately they were going to be able to fix things like his dad promised, like they all wanted. That girl, and her brother, deserved to grow up in a world that just accepted them as they were, not by the color of their hair.

He turned to Winry, to say just that, when he noticed the Fuhrer was standing right beside them, smiling at the window. Ed frowned and followed his line of sight, to see a reporter standing in the flowerbed, taking a photo directly through the window. "No. No way. I draw the line at the property line on this shit." Ed stormed, as he glared at the man in the window. "My son deserves to have his birthday without interruption after the year he's had! I will not let his whole life be a circus because I punched a megalomaniac in the face!"

"Ed. He is the son of the Fullmetal alchemist, Grandson of the Flame Alchemist, and future great-grandson of the Fuhrer. His life is a circus anyway, with or without you punching a God in the face." Al said from his other side.

"I really don't care. I wanted this one thing for him. His birthday is a private matter. Brosh, Ross, Havoc. Get those people off my lawn!" Ed demanded.

"Yes, Sir." Chorused through the group as they headed toward the door, joined by Roy's team when he gave them a nod. Only Sheska and Hawkeye remained inside, and right next to the children. Grumman seemed highly amused by the whole thing, before he wandered over to the other side of the room to demand to know when Roy and Riza would be getting married.

Izumi came up to Ed next, and he smiled at her before seeing her expression. He resisted the urge to hide behind Winry, because Izumi would just push passed her and he didn't need to break up a fight. "Hey, Teacher." Ed said hoping he had managed to keep the fear from his voice. "How are you feeling?"

"Don't you 'Hey Teacher me!" Izumi said with a growl as she smacked him upside the head. "What's this about you being a Colonel?Why hadn't I heard about it from you?"

"I wanted to tell you in person, and you never read the papers! I was going to tell you at dinner."

"You made headlines Edward, with the girlfriend issue. We didn't have to actually read it to find out." Sig said in his usual calm voice from behind Izumi.

"Dad said it was news. I didn't believe it was going to be this big of a deal, and now Grumman wants to come to the wedding and there are people taking photos through the windows, and I am really sore all over. I just wanted Yuery to have a good birthday." Ed ranted quietly, for Ed, in the corner until he ran out of steam.

"Yuery's having a great time, Ed." Sig said as he pointed to the boy, who was happily chasing after Daniel and Elicia, Franklin the Great trailing behind him. Ed briefly wondered who let the dog back into the living room, before being distracted by Winry waiving him over toward the refreshment table.

Ed excused himself and joined his fiancée and brother near the refreshments, as Riza dimmed the lights and Roy brought in the cake. Ed scooped Yuery up as everyone sang happy birthday, then he helped the boy blow out his candles. Everyone clapped and cheered making Yuery cheer as well, before they served the cake.

"This was poorly planned, we should have done presents first." Ed commented as he watched his son cover himself in frosting. "Now he's going to have to be washed up before he opens them, and we all know how much he hates baths.

"So we don't bathe him until later. I'll wash his hands and face with a cloth and give him a full bath later." Roy said with a smile.

"Dadda! Yeye!" Yuery yelled as he held out a fork covered in smashed cake and smiling. Winry smiled down as she ruffled the boy's hair, and he looked up wide-eyed before yelling just as loudly "Mama!" and offering her his fork.

"That's your cake Yuery. I have some. Thank you for sharing." Winry said with a slight laugh. Ed had moved to the boy's other side, and ignored the cameras as several people took photos of the three of them.

A few minutes later, somehow Al, Mei, Roy, and Riza had all been pushed into the frame as well, as a few more photos were taken before Roy managed to produce a washcloth and clean the child enough to ensure wrapping paper wouldn't stick to him.

Shortly after that the presents were given, and Ed and Winry insisted on a final photo that also included the Hughes, the Curtis, Pinako and the Thomases as Yuery's whole family. Somehow this lead to team photos also including Yuery. Finally, a series of photos of just the children.

When it was all done, Roy chuckled as the guests began to leave as he said. "Well, I wonder if Maes would agree we took enough photos of the event."

"Probably not." Riza said with a small smile.

"It's okay. If we missed anything, the press caught it." Ed said with an eyeroll. "Winry offered to bathe Yuery, so you got out of it Dad."

"Oh good. Then I guess I'm on clean up. Can't have the mess left to poor Ms. Bella after all." Roy said with a sigh.

"Have fun with that." Ed said. "I did all the set up while you were busy playing with the cat, AND I hit my head when I fell off the ladder. I'm sitting down."

"Is the great Edward Elric admitting to an injury?" asked Russell, who Ed had honestly forgotten was here.

"I'm not injured. I'm making Dad do his part since the party was his idea. I wanted to have it outside." Ed said. "Did I invite you and forget?"

"No. Mustang invited me." Russell snapped. "I came because I wanted to meet the kid and find out if the rumors are true. They are, you have three pretty girls living here with you. Do you have any idea what you're doing to our reputation?"

"Mei and Rose are a misunderstanding, Rose is just a friend and Mei is in love with- wait what so you mean 'our' reputation? Have you been using my name again? What the hell, almost hanging wasn't enough of a lesson for you?!"

"Don't be dramatic. They don't hang people anymore. It's would have been a firing squad." Russell said stubbornly. "Besides, everyone wants to be friends with Edward Elric. None of them know the real you of course, so I just…help them out sometimes. If I happen to make money in the process who does it harm?"

"It does violate our agreement." Roy said, "Part of the staying out of jail included NOT using Ed's name anymore. If you want to be a state alchemist that badly, take the test an become one of your own right."

"What are you doing Dad? You do know that if he passes I'm going to end up his direct boss."

"I just realized I have a couple people I need to greet before they leave." Roy said as he slipped away.

Russell slipped away without another word, and Ed groaned in frustration. If Russell took and passed that test Ed was going to figure out a way to make him field instead of lab and then punt him right at Roy. He looked around, to see that everyone had left. The house was empty aside from those who lived here, and Rose, Mei, and Al were busy clearing up the party.

There was nothing left to do, and Ed was still sore, so he decided to go ahead and take a nap. Winry was singing to Yuery in the bathroom, and there was a great deal of splashing and angry yelling going on in there. Ed yelled through the door, asking if she needed help but she said it was fine and for him to go lay down. Ed nodded and disappeared into the room to sleep off the pain.

8:00pm

Abandoned house outside of Central

They met as soon as the sunset, the room lit by candles and house muffled to muggles. It was a good plan, though none of them thought it was perfect plan, but it had been working out better than they had hoped. Between the office and the hospital, they had managed to infiltrate well enough to keep an eye on the child. Dumbledore was expecting an update tonight, so they had all met here to wait for him. He only came once before, usually waiting for letters to arrive. There were six of them altogether, and all had managed to get into place effortlessly, in the aftermath of Promised Day it was incredibly easy for almost anyone to get work in the city.

Dumbledore knocked a few minutes later, before walking in without waiting for them to let him in. He smiled as he looked around the room to ensure everyone had arrived. He then cleared his throat before calling them to order. Kingsley Shacklebolt would need to be replaced soon, as he was almost out of sick leave and from what he had seen the child was well cared for. He voted to leave the child.

Professors McGonagall and Snape, Remus Lupin and Mrs. Figg, as well as Mrs. Tonks had all also found ways to watch the family in the last few weeks, the Professors were the newest additions, only arriving when the child returned to the country. They all reported, like Shacklebolt, that the child seemed in good hands.

Lupin would have to leave soon as well, he had a few weeks of potion left, but unless Snape brewed him more he would be forced to return to England after the next moon. His condition was controlled but there was no known cure, he was a werewolf. It was a matter of both safety and security of the mission that he not be without the treatment. He had insisted on having a chance to see the boy, who was born his best friend's son.

He had, along with the other two, promised to keep the boy safe if anything were to happen to his parents. Sirus…Sirus had betrayed them, by all accounts, and Peter was dead. It fell then to him to keep the boy safe. Part of him wanted to snatch the child away and take him home, but Remus couldn't not with his condition. Severus Snape was not a fan of having to work with Remus Lupin, no matter how temporary but he had agreed to keep everyone safe, to keep Lupin in Wolfbane Potion until he went back to England. Unfortunately, both Professors would soon need to return to England to begin preparing for class.

Mrs. Figg and Mrs. Tonks would be staying longer. At least until they could find a way to keep an eye on the child from afar. Dumbledore was pleased with what they had to tell him. The child was being housed in the home of a General. He had been well cared for, he seemed happy and they verified he was healthy and showing early signs of magic.

Regrettably, Dumbledore would be unable to approach the child, as it seemed he had been correct that Major Elric had taken the child, presumably to protect him, but he would recognize Dumbledore and make an issue of them checking up on the boy. He would have to be satisfied that he was healthy.

Lupin, who had reported last was finishing his report with "I managed to look at the record's. He is legally named as Colonel Elric's son, and is registered under the name Yuery. I am not sure why he would have changed Harry's name, accept maybe as a way to protect him. I'm the first to admit I was angry about all of this when it was brought to my attention. However, after watching them interact with Harry, and seeing how Harry reacts to them, he is happy and well loved. Perhaps...it may be better to let him develop here before approaching them. No Death Eaters know he's alive this way. He could have a happy childhood here, like James and Lilly would have wanted for him."

"I agree with Lupin. They love the boy, treat him well. He considers them his family and he is developing normally. Perhaps with different…influence…" Snape began but was cut off by Lupin's growl.

Mrs. Figg and Mrs. Tonks both also agreed that the boy was in good care. Mrs. Tonks even pointed out that the boy would be gaining a step mother in the next few months according to the local papers. Dumbledore thanked them all, before stating "It is clear that the child would be endangered should the wrong ears learn about this, therefore, we will leave him here, in their care, until he is old enough for school. It is better for him to be raised away from all the threats and fame. He will be famous, when our world learns that he survived. For now, it would be best for our world to think he is gone."

"Would it not raise morale to learn the boy lived?" Kingsley asked with a frown. "I agree he is well off where he is, but our people should know of his survival."

"Absolutely not. Death Eaters would hunt him down, no we are better off hiding him in plain sight here, I agree with Dumbledore." Lupin said. The others all nodded as the meeting broke up, everyone agreeing to meet again in two weeks to check in and bring four of them back to England.


	4. Trouble Never Rests

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Dad?" Ed said cautiously.
> 
> "I know what I'm doing Ed. I'm here, not back there." Roy said in return, though there was anger in his voice, he wasn't manic.

Trouble Never Rests

9:00 pm

Mustang-Rockbell-Elric Residence

Mei looked all over the house, as well as feeling, before asking that Edward and Roy join her in the office. She had had her suspicions earlier but the party being so busy made it hard to pinpoint. A few minutes ago, the feeling had returned. She immediately asked for this meeting.

Once Ed and Roy had come in, Mei sealed the room temporarily to keep anyone from listening in on their conversation. Both of the others frowned at this but said nothing. The last few months had taught them to be cautious. Once they had both sat she took a deep breath before beginning. "Fluffy isn't a cat. I felt something strange the last few days, but it was really strong today once it was in the house. I wasn't certain at first, because there were so many other people in here, and it was sticking to crowds…but when the cats came in a few minutes ago I knew for sure. It's not a cat. It's qi doesn't feel right, it feels like a person."

Roy didn't need to hear anything else, and neither did Edward. Roy was seeing visions of Envy. Edward was equal parts worried about another Envy and his father's reaction to Envy. Roy stormed out of the room with a loud clap, and Ed rushed after him as he yelled for Mei to call Riza over his shoulder.

It didn't take long to track down the supposed cat, who was purring as it sat in Al's lap and he rubbed behind it's ears and chatted with Winry. Winry was holding a sleeping Yuery in her arms, waiting for Roy to come back since he had said he was taking the boy for the night. "Winry. Why don't you go lay Yuery down upstairs for me? I'll be there in a few minutes, just need to get the pets settled in for the night." Roy said calmly. Winry and Al both knew instantly something was wrong by the set of Roy's shoulders but said nothing as she nodded and walked out of the room.

She spotted Ed coming down the hall, he shook his head to keep her from talking and pointed up the stairs while mouthing silently ' Go to Rose's room. Lock the door.' She nodded and walked upstairs far calmer than she felt. She had no idea what was wrong but something was clearly very wrong. She stepped into Rose's room, where the other young mother had just finished tucking Hannah and Daniel in, and locked the door.

Rose was confused but Winry shook her head and whispered. "Not yet. I need you to lay Yuery down with the other kids and watch this door. I'm going to go grab something from my room and I'll be right back. I'll explain the best I promise."

After Winry watched Rose settle the baby between Hannah and Daniel before nodding and walking out of the room. Winry rushed to her room and grabbed both her biggest wrench and a handful of the throwing knives Ed had taken to carrying since regaining his arm. She wrapped them in a sleeping bag as she hurriedly changed into flannel pajama pants and one of Ed's tee shirts. She wanted to appear she just planned to stay over in Rose's room, but there was no problems.

Meanwhile, as soon as Winry and the baby were upstairs Roy reached for the cat. Al frowned slightly, but allowed it. He was concerned about what may be going on though he trusted his father. Ed slipped into the living room and slid shut the pocket doors they never closed. A brief crackle of blue light came, Al knew his brother had just sealed them in.

This didn't make any sense to him, if there was a danger why would Ed seal himself away from his son? Fluffy stiffened in Roy's arms as he placed a hand against the back of her neck in a manner that should have been comforting to the animal. Al stood shakily, and limped toward his brother, Ed meeting halfway across the room and pushed him behind himself. "Dad?" Ed said cautiously.

"I know what I'm doing Ed. I'm here, not back there." Roy said in return, though there was anger in his voice, he wasn't manic. Ed nodded and started subtly pushing his brother back toward the door while keeping himself between Roy and Al and never taking his eyes off of Roy. It was scaring Al, who didn't understand what was happening.

The cat hissed at Roy, and tried to wiggle loose, making Al freeze. "What's going on?" Al asked, uncertainly.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Roy said instead of answering his son.

The cat wriggled in his grip trying to get loose. Ed pushed Al harder, and whispered to his brother to just go and find Mei, that she would explain. Al finally relented, and with another crackle of blue light the doors unlocked. Just as Al reached for the door, the cat scratched Roy and managed to squirm free. Ed rushed forward to grab her again, Al instinctively slammed the doors shut again and the cat yowled in frustration.

Roy and Ed closed in on the cat, blood dripping down Roy's arm and Ed pulling one of his knives from his back. Cobalt came out of nowhere pinning the other cat to the ground, and Franklin the Great barked and growled at the cat. Al felt bad for the poor thing and wanted to reach for the clearly terrified animal.

There was a loud crack, and the cat was gone. The three men jumped, and Roy and Ed both jumped forward too late. Al again asked what was going on as Ed paled. He had only heard that sound twice in his life, both times while he was in England. He had wondered what it had meant at the time, but now he knew at least in part.

He turned to the other two and said in a shallow scared voice. "They found him."

Roy paled along with Ed, but Al frowned in confusion. "Who found him? What? What's going on? Where's the cat? What happened Ed?"

Ed clapped and unsealed the door without a word before heading toward the study. He froze at the staircase, finding himself beaten. He wanted to go hold his son but he needed to explain. His shoulder's slumped as he headed the rest of the way into the other room. Roy and Al trailed behind him. Mei was just hanging up the phone when Ed came into the room. "I need you to teach me to read the dragon's pulse. As soon as you can." Ed said, "She got away. I need to be able to sense when they are around for myself to keep him safe."

"Who?" Al and Mei both asked.

"The Wizards." Roy and Ed responded.

The silence was deafening before Mei nodded. "I will teach you all. It takes most people about three weeks to grasp the basics of feeling qi. Learning to manipulate it takes far longer, though I am hoping that since you three are alchemists it will be easier for you. When do you want to start?"

"Now. Tonight." Ed said, and Mei nodded, before leading them all out of the study and into the library where they would have more room. She sat them all down on cushions and made sure the room temperature was ideal. They were going to have to relax which was going to be the hardest part, but she had never heard of someone learning properly any other way.

Upstairs, Winry and Rose got all of the children settled, before agreeing themselves that they should find out if there was still some sort of threat. Rose offered to go check, since Winry had braved going to her room and gathering weapons it seemed only fair. Winry in turn insisted on going herself. Ed had taught her how to throw knives, and she already was good at throwing wrenches, so it made sense for her to be the one that left the room.

She snuck silently downstairs, before carefully looking around until she found the others in the library. She frowned at them because everything seemed calm but they were alchemists so it was had to say. She had seen Ed and Al over the years look very calm when they were anything but. She hoped she wasn't interrupting anything important as she cleared her throat. All four of them looked at her instantly, before Ed jumped to his feet, already demanding to know if everything was alright.

Winry frowned. "I came down to find out if the threat was over, whatever it was."

"We seem to be safe for the night, but no not really. The Wizards found us." Ed said in reply.

"What are you doing then?" Winry asked, before it sank in what he had said. "What do you mean the wizards found us? Are they after Yuery? Is that why you sent us upstairs?"

"We have to assume they are after Yuery, though we don't know for certain what they are planning. Mei sensed the qi from Fluffy and realized it wasn't a cat but a shapeshifter. She's teaching the rest of us to sense qi." Al said.

"I see. No, I don't, but I assume you are doing this to protect him so I see that." Winry said. "I'll be headed back up to help Rose keep an eye on the children then. Do you think we should just keep them all together for tonight?"

"Yeah. I'll come up with some more security measure tomorrow, for tonight just stay together. Oh, and would you let Ms. Riza in, she just pulled up." Ed said as he heard a car door slam.

"Yeah, ok. I'll be upstairs if you need me." Winry said and just waived at Ed telling her to be careful and try to sleep.

Abandoned House

9:30

Snape had just returned from the city, Lupin about to ask where he had gone, when a loud crack informed them someone had arrived. Snape and Lupin were surprised to see McGonagall. She had intended to stay with the target family for at least two weeks before checking in and it had been less than a day. Clearly something had gone wrong. She had apparated in, another indication. She was also clearly disheveled and agitated, as she attempted to dust herself off and straightened her hair the men stood with matching frowns. She shot them both a stern frown and walked over to the fireplace without a word, before throwing a handful up dust into the fire. As it flared green she said simply " Albus, a word if you please."

Moments later Albus Dumbledore stepped through the flames and dusted off his already clean robes. "Why Minerva, this is a surprise. We weren't expecting you so soon." He said in a jovial tone that belied his concern.

"They knew I was human." Minerva responded. "They waited until the house was nearly empty then they attacked me to force me to return to my human state. I do not understand why they waited until now, when they spent the morning with me in the house without concern."

"Perhaps they didn't want a fight they did have a late birthday party for Harry today." Lupin suggested.

"I think they changed his birthday actually. I was listening to them all morning." Minerva said thoughtfully.

"I wonder why?" Lupin mused.

"Well, they changed his name and his birthdate, they were either trying to hide him or they didn't know his correct information and guessed…or both." Snape said with a frown. He had gone digging through the records department this evening after Lupin mentioned the child's name had been changed.

"Regardless. I do not feel we need to alter the plan at this time. We have established the child is cared for and we have inside connections without Minerva. It is unfortunate to lose her so quickly, but she was able to get inside long enough to assume they treat the child well without witnesses, correct?" Dumbledore said thoughtfully.

"Yes. Edward Elric, or 'Dad' as the boy knows him, is caring for the child as well as we can hope for. I admit I was concerned when I began watching as Elric does not appear to be that old himself. I later became convinced he simply has a youthful appearance as he is apparently a Colonel in their military." McGonagall stated.

"Oh no, he is rather young. I confirmed with their records department. He turned sixteen this year, and has been in their military four years, is under contract another two. His commanding officer, Roy Mustang, is his father. Major General Roy Mustang is thirty, so I assume they just have a rather youthful military though I didn't dive further into the records." Snape said calmly.

"Sixteen?! He's not even an adult. How did he adopt a child?" Lupin asked.

"He didn't." Snape responded. "According to record, his son Yuery Alphonse Mustang- Elric was born on August 2nd, 1913 to Emma Vought and Edward Hohenheim Mustang-Elric" Emma Vought subsequently died in an automobile collision on November 1st, 1913. Edward has since been the sole guardian of Yuery, however, his father, Roy Mustang is listed as a secondary guardian in the event of an emergency or travel." Lupin said. "I looked into those records as well. There is also a temporary, now expired, order of custody listing one Winry Rockbell as Yuery's caregiver. An updated petition has been added listing Ms. Rockbell's intent to become his adoptive mother."

"Edward and Winry are engaged. I saw them both at the party. She and another young woman, Rose Thomas, live with Edward and Roy." McGonagall stated. "As well as the Xing princess Mei Chen, who is visiting I gathered.

"Rose Thomas?" Snape said as he flipped threw his notes as he paced in front of the fire. " I know I've read that name. Ah here it is! William Elric Thomas was born December 3rd, 1914 to Rose Thomas and Edward Hohenheim Mustang-Elric."

"So then he would be Yuery's brother. That explains why they live there at least." McGonagall said with a frown.

"According to the papers, Colonel Elric considers her a family friend who he is temporarily allowing to stay in his home as she recovers from the destruction in the East. Ms. Rockbell is his fiancée." Lupin said as he held up the papers. "It says nothing here about Rose's child being related to them."

"Perhaps they haven't said anything in light of the obvious propaganda they are trying to spread. Have you heard the rumors about the boy floating around? According to the people, he just defeated an entire insurgence with just the help of his injured father and dying teacher." Lupin said. "He is also related to the current leader of their country somehow though I haven't been able to trace the records. General Mustang adopted Colonel Elric a few months ago and his older birth records were sealed."

"Perhaps that is what happened with Harry and this other boy then?" McGonagall asked.

"No, the records are different. We may have a legal fight down the road should we try to get the boy away from Elric. According to international treaty we would have to get Elric's permission to take the boy to Hogwarts, and they are unlikely to allow the argument regarding his records. We have no real proof that Yuery Elric is Harry Potter, particularly because the Ministry declared Potter dead nearly two years ago with his parents." Dumbledore explained calmly. "We must wait and see. Once they realize the boy is magical, that he needs further training, I am confidant they will allow us to train him. All of the information I have received leans toward Colonel Elric is working in the best interest of the child."

"So what do we do now?" Lupin asked.

"Nothing." Dumbledore said. "I will leave one in place to watch over the boy, and keep us informed. Everyone else can come home. We will see him in nine years, when it is time for him to realize his fate and place in our world."

" I don't like it." Lupin said with a frown. "I promised James and Lilly I would watch over their child should anything happen to them. Sirius and I both swore."

"I am afraid nothing short of kidnapping will change it Remus. I fear a kidnapping would not end well for anyone involved." Snape said. "I will return every summer and break to check in on them."

"You hated James, why should you want to check on him?" Lupin asked, frustrated that he wasn't going to be allowed to rescue the boy.

"My reasons are my own, but rest assured, I want nothing but this child's survival." Snape said in return.

"We are to trust the word of a traitor then?" Lupin sneered.

"Better a double agent than a werewolf." Snape replied with equal scorn. McGonagall sighed. She hoped they would calm as they grew older. Both men were still rather young in her opinion. Both having recently passed their twenty-second birthday.

Dumbledore ordered them all to gather their things and return to England by morning before leaving himself. He apparated, they assumed either home or to the pub. He had, in fact, appeared outside of the home of Harry's new family. He wanted to see them for himself, at least to confirm that the boy who was raising the child was the one he remembered. Clearly, he had revealed too much of the plans to the boy for him to have gone to so many extremes to protect the child.

Edward was young, he simply did not understand the need for the Greater Good. In time he would come to see reason, especially as a soldier with other children. Dumbledore simply had to wait it out, then when he spoke to the boy again, he could explain calmly that the child needed to train to save them all. One day, when the boy was a man, he would sit with him and they could agree on an even field.

Until then, the boy would be pampered and cared for which would benefit him, judging by the way Elric seemed, they clearly raised their children to be warriors in this savage culture which would work out better than the other options on the table for them at this time. It really was a shame he wouldn't be able to keep a closer eye on the whole situation.

He watched, bemused, from the safety of the cloak through the library window as the family seemed to be having some sort of meeting. The three men and a girl sat on the floor in a circle, and all seemed to be trying to relax. Suddenly the girl's eyes snapped open before he could decide if perhaps he could get closer to the glass and maybe hear what they were saying. He stepped back even as she tracked him. There should be no way for her to know he was there, but she certainly seemed to sense him somehow.

She murmured something to the men, who all tensed, but otherwise didn't move. She continued to watch him as he stared in fascination. If they knew he was here, they would have come out to confront him ,so whatever it was she noticed she clearly didn't tell the others, he assumed. A few minutes later, the thin blond nodded followed quickly by the one he recognized as Elric. The third man frowned, but the other two stood at the same time and left the room.

The last man sat in silence for another minute before with a frown he turned toward the window and whispered to the girl, who nodded. He then stood and walked closer to the glass, without opening his eyes. He was almost nose to nose with the widow, and Dumbledore on the other side, when the two blonds appeared on either side of him.

They had spotted him somehow, which should not be possible. Just like it should not have been possible for them to notice what Minerva actually was. He frowned as he backed away slowly. He was trying to remember if Nicolas was able to sense him when he was under the cloak but he couldn't remember right off hand. He would have to think about it later…or ask Nicolas. For now he had to leave.

As he apparated, he overheard both blonds telling each other they had done 'it' whatever 'it' was it clearly was how they had noticed him. This made things a bit more complicated, but he was still confidant he had the situation well in hand.


	5. The Return to Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "…If you start bringing William into the office, it's only going to fuel the rumors." Mustang said. "Plus, you said yourself this is temporary. How will you feel when she gets on her feet and leaves with the boy once you're attached?"
> 
> "Technically, she filed that I'm William's father. I can get as attached as I want, because legally he's my son. No child of mine, whether they are my child or not, is ever going to feel abandoned by me." Edward said.
> 
> "I see." Mustang said. "Is William going to be a permanent fixture in your life then?"
> 
> "Of course." Ed said. "Rose and Winry and I talked about it. Even after she gets her own place, Will is welcome over anytime and I don't see any reason to change how the world views him. I know I was upset at first, but I've had time to think about it and I think it might be better for him this way. His paperwork is legal, that makes him every bit as much mine as Yuery."
> 
> "Well, then, I suppose we should encourage him to call me Yeye."
> 
> "Already working on it." Ed said.

The Return to Work

Central Headquarters

Office of Colonel Edward Elric

9:00am

Edward admitted to himself, and surprisingly his Dad, that he was nervous about this. He had never been left in charge of a group in a formal non-combat setting before, and he was sure he was going to mess the whole thing up. His dad assured him that it would be fine, and everyone had a first day. Further, he had been given Jean Havoc as his adjutant. While it was true that Riza Hawkeye had been Roy's adjutant since his first office promotion, Jean Havoc had been his second aide and on the rare occasion that Riza had been out of the office over the years, Jean had handled the job as well as her, if a little less professionally.

This eased Ed's concern slightly, but in the end he was still ten years younger than the record breaking twenty-six Roy Mustang had been at the time he had become a Colonel, and Roy… Dad… had run an office for nearly two years before that. Ed felt like he was playing dress up and any moment now someone was going to come rushing in to say the whole thing was a terrible mistake. That, of course, no one in their right mind would give this kind of power to a teenager. Then he remembered that technically, he had been a legal adult for the last four years. Technically, he had been raising a child for the last two years. Technically, he saved the world less than six months ago. Technically, his best friend, who was almost a year younger than him was the leader of an entire country. Obviously, they would in fact give this kind of power to a teenager, given the right circumstances. Unfortunately, Ed met them.

He walked into the office, far calmer than he actually felt, wearing a stiffly starched and pressed uniform that screamed new. His boots were perfectly polished, his medals perfectly aligned, his hair perfectly pinned, and his nerved completely frayed. His men were all standing at attention when he entered the room, Jean Havoc( with his cane), Heymans Breda, Sheska Harris, Maria Ross, and Denny Broch. Edward saluted them in return and allowed them to sit, before finding his own desk. It was already stacked high with files for him to review and sign.

Edward sighed heavily and wondered if it was too late to change his mind. At least his staff were all friendly faces. He pulled the first folder off of his stack and got to work, much to Havoc's relief. He had not been looking forward to trying to order other people around, but then he kept reminding himself that Mustang didn't. In the office at least, during day to day tasks of paperwork, Dad-Mustang- left Hawkeye to keep everyone in line. Ed would simply do the same. When a job came up he would give orders, of course, but for this part at least, he would leave it mostly to Havoc.

Havoc didn't need Edward to tell him that either, he was already running things. He seemed to be nearly as efficient as Hawkeye with it too. Ed decided that tomorrow he would be sure to bring Havoc something as a thank you, like a muffin from the café on the other side of the square. He'd do it this afternoon, but the stack was high, and Yuery was being traded at noon. He was currently with Winry, but she had a meeting at one to look at a store space. Mustang-Dad- couldn't take Yuery because he had a meeting with Fuhrer Grumman, and Al was still too weak to ask him to keep an eye on an energetic toddler. It never occurred to Ed to ask either Rose or Mei to watch the boy for the afternoon.

11:00am

The morning had been very quiet as Ed read through the files and signed off on various requests. So far, he had approved only three projects to continue, placing fifteen in the 'look into in person' pile. He was unwilling to allow anything even remotely sketchy sounding to continue before looking into it. He stood and stretched briefly, his arm still stiff after months of therapy, though better than it was.

"Harris, Breda. I need the two of you to take a team and look into these for me. Make sure the paperwork matches what you're seeing. If anything looks off, just flag the file." Ed said as he handed over the stack of files. "You have until Friday."

Sheska and Breda nodded, saluted, and left the office. He then turned to Havoc. "I need to go grab something to eat before Yuery gets here, if anyone calls I stepped out for a minute."

"Yes, sir." Havoc said. "I trust you emptied your inbox then sir?"

"You're not my mother Havoc." Ed snorted.

"I'm not. She would point a gun at you. Did you finish your paperwork, or do I have to go get her?" Havoc responded.

"Hey! Dad just barely started dating Hawkeye. She's not my stepmother yet." Ed said. :I finished my inbox, mother."

Ed walked out of the office ignoring Havoc's sputtering. He decided to detour to his father's office, to see if Dad was ready for lunch as well. He was going to invite him to lunch and mention the labs, that way it was work related and Hawkeye would (probably) allow it.

He walked in and was greeted by Falman and Fuery enthusiastically. Hawkeye nodded to him but the way she held her shoulders he knew there was no chance of Dad leaving the office, but he could probably sell a lunch meeting in office. "Hawkeye, could you order food up for me and the General? I have a couple of files that are of immediate concern."

"Of course, Sir." Hawkeye said before gesturing for Fuery to take care of it. She then knocked on Mustang's door to announce Ed's arrival. "Sir, Colonel Elric here to see you. He took the liberty of ordering your lunch."

"Show him in." Mustang called back, and Ed walked into the office. It was slightly bigger than his old office, but most of the furniture was the same. Except for the couch, which resided in Edward's office instead. Mustang was busy reading a file of his own, and Ed could tell from the frown he was actually reading it for a change.

Wordlessly, Ed set the file in question down on the corner of his desk and waited. He decided at least for today he should behave like an officer and wait to be invited to sit. After a few minutes, Mustang looked up and realized he was still standing. "Unless someone else is in here, you can just sit. There's no reason to stand."

"I'm trying to follow protocol as much as possible…but I'm not cutting my hair." Ed said in reply as he sat in the chair across from Mustang.

"You don't have to. As a Colonel you have to wear the uniform, but as an Alchemist you can wear your hair however you wish. It was one of the first things I looked up in Academy." Mustang said as he closed the file he had just signed and reached for the one Ed brought in.

"Oh, did you go through a ponytail stage? Are there pictures?" Ed asked, with humor in his voice.

"I had considered it. However, Kimblee was in my dorm. I already had enough trouble with my heritage I didn't need to draw more attention to myself." Mustang said, making sure to keep his tone light. "I may have dared a couple of others to grow their hair out however. I myself considered a mustache… Hughes kindly pointed out that it was unlikely that I could get a date if I attempted it."

Edward burst into surprised laughter at the mental image of Mustang with facial hair as Hawkeye walked into the room with their sandwiches. "He was correct, Sir. It is unlikely anyone would have taken you seriously. I remember your attempt when we were younger."

"Oh Truth. Tell me there are pictures somewhere!" Ed giggled.

"They met an unexpected and unlikely end." Mustang said dryly.

"I have copies." Hawkeye replied at the same time. Mustang's expression screamed betrayal. Ed nearly slid out of his chair with laughter, tears on his cheeks. Hawkeye allowed herself a small smirk.

Ed pulled himself back into his seat and pulled the lunch bag to him as she left the room. He periodically let out another fir of giggles but had mostly calmed down, while Mustang pointedly ignored him to read the file he had brought over.

Normally, Ed would have suggested that anyone reading it should eat beforehand unless they wanted to skip lunch, but he knew his dad well enough to know that the man could internalize some really nasty things(like learning the entire country was about to die) and carry on as if someone had announced that they were planting daisies instead of violets. He was disturbed, but could set that feeling aside.

"How did this slip through the initial sweep?" Mustang asked as he turned a page, only to freeze at the photo attached to the upper left hand corner.

"Yeah, that's what I wanted to know." Ed said around his sandwich. "They were supposed to have started immediately after Promised Day. You signed the order. Or rather someone signed your name. This was signed while you were still blind…and the next order in the file was signed while you were in Xing, so it isn't someone in your office signing off on this shit, which made it an unknown enemy, which in turn made Ed nervous.

"Someone's trying to tarnish the new administration, myself included. That is a serious issue. I will have it looked into. Meanwhile, about this chimera experiments…if you haven't already, shut it down." Mustang said.

"Yeah, I need to take care of that this afternoon. That's part of why I'm here." Ed said setting down his sandwich as Mustang picked his own up. "Win is dropping Yu in about twenty minutes. I need someone to watch him. There's no way in hell I'm taking a baby anywhere near that lab."

"Hmm….I have a meeting this afternoon, and it can't be pushed back. Call Rose, ask her if she would pick him up around two. I'll be out of the meeting by three and can go straight home from there, so she won't have him for too long."

"…I forgot about Rose." Ed said a bit sheepishly. She did live with them after all.

"I see, well she a rather new addition to our home, I suppose I can see how that could happen in this situation."

"Funny. I didn't forget about William, I was just thinking it was good I didn't have both of them to find a sitter for today."

"…If you start bringing William into the office, it's only going to fuel the rumors." Mustang said. "Plus, you said yourself this is temporary. How will you feel when she gets on her feet and leaves with the boy once you're attached?"

"Technically, she filed that I'm William's father. I can get as attached as I want, because legally he's my son. No child of mine, whether they are my child or not, is ever going to feel abandoned by me." Edward said.

"I see." Mustang said. "Is William going to be a permanent fixture in your life then?"

"Of course." Ed said. "Rose and Winry and I talked about it. Even after she gets her own place, Will is welcome over anytime and I don't see any reason to change how the world views him. I know I was upset at first, but I've had time to think about it and I think it might be better for him this way. His paperwork is legal, that makes him every bit as much mine as Yuery."

"Well, then, I suppose we should encourage him to call me Yeye."

"Already working on it." Ed said. "About this case. I'm taking a full team in, I want all these men arrested. Immediately. Before they can decide to flee and go into hiding somewhere."

"I agree. Even under the old administration this was technically illegal, though we know now they didn't enforce those laws. Human chimera research is strictly forbidden. From what I'm seeing here…"

"It gets worse. Trust This is just what they released; I can't imagine what we're going to see when we get in there."

"Are you going to be able to handle this?"

"Just have the boys ready for cuddles when I get home…I'm going to need both of them, and Al…and possibly Winry…and I might need to sleep in yours tonight."

"I could send someone else."

"I don't want anyone else touching this."

"Okay. We'll be waiting for you when you get home." Mustang said, wanting nothing more than to hug his son to him and run him far away from all of this. Unfortunately, Ed was right. He was the best person to look into this, it's why Mustang had lab clean up assigned to him. That didn't mean he wasn't concerned about what this would do to his son.

It was a constant internal battle between the father in him and the general in him, having to choose what was best for his child, or best for the country. Usually, he managed to find a place somewhere in the middle, but not with this one. This was going to wreck his child, and sadly no one aside from possibly his other son, was qualified to handle it. At least not anyone who would handle the situation with compassion but logic.

In an attempt to get his mind off what was coming, Mustang brought them back to William. "I hope you know what you are doing with this William situation. Alphonse currently believes you are telling the truth, but this could derail that progress."

"Al and I are finally on the same page. I even explained to him the William situation. He understands and still believes me. Rose is also happy with the whole thing, she was pleased to learn I was willing to be the baby's Dad. Daniel and Hannah are actually a bigger problem. We need to find a good home for them, long term. Rose is caring for them for now, but she is feeling overwhelmed and has for a while. She had fully expected their mother to return for them long before now. I think I'm going to get into contact with Ishvalan relations and see what they can do to find their family."

"Technically. I am Ishvalan relations now. That's what this afternoon's meeting is about as well. I'm meeting with Colonel Miles and Elder Sham, as well as Scar to discuss moving forward with rebuilding. I can ask them while they are here to see if they can find their birth mother."

"Excellent. Thank you." Ed said as he finished his sandwich. "Well, I need to get going if I'm calling Rose, and I need to get a team ordered together so we can take care of this quickly. I'll see you at home."

"Be careful." Mustang said in return.

"Oh, before I go. Rose gave me a list for you, of the names of officers' she remembered involved in the abuse of power out in Liore."

"Thank you. I will see to them immediately."

Edward left finally to return to his office and prepare for the raid. He wasn't stupid. They were going to have some well made ones like Darius and Heinkel. There were going to be some bad ones, like Greed's gang. Then there were the ones that haunted you, and never let you sleep. After Nina… well this shouldn't be as bad as Nina. He didn't know any of these victims, and there was no way that he could have known what was going on in lab three.

General Mustang's Office

2:00pm

Rose had picked up Yuery as requested, and was waiting in Mustang's outer office. She had originally intended to head back home with the children, but she had not thought about how difficult seeing all those soldiers would be on the children, or herself. She had turned to return to Ed's office to ask him to walk her down, but he and his team had already been gone.

She then learned Mustang's office was just a little further down the hall, and there hadn't been any uniforms in the corridor so she had gone to ask him instead. She didn't trust Mustang as much as Ed, but she did trust him. At least enough to believe he would not hurt her or the children. He had been in a meeting however, but Hawkeye had offered to allow her to wait in the front room.

Rose had reluctantly agreed, when Yuery had seen the other soldiers and ran off toward the youngest looking one with glasses yelling "Kay!" She assumed this was a variation of the man's name. Hannah and Daniel soon drifted further into the room as well, drawn by the dog sitting neatly next to Hawkeye's desk. She gave them permission to pet the dog, and they were now sitting on the floor playing with him.

Rose shifted William in her arms, and looked around for a place to sit. The outer office wasn't really equipped with visitors in mind, so she resigned herself to standing. William, however, was unhappy with that idea. "You can set him down to crawl around if you like." Hawkeye suggested. "The room has been completely baby proofed. Any and all offices occupied by General Mustang are completely safe for a young child, at his insistence. He loves Yuery very much and wants it to always be an inviting area for him. In fact if you look over behind that desk over there, there is actually a basket of toys."

"Thank you, ma'am." Rose nearly whispered before stooping to release her son. He had recently begun crawling, and was still rather shaky, but he liked chasing his 'cousins' and 'brother' around. Rose had been rather relieved when Winry and Edward, along with Alphonse had come to her the other day to ask her if she wanted to allow Ed to fulfill the roll of the child's father.

William deserved a father like Yuery's. Ed was completely devoted to the boy, anyone could see that. Winry loved the boy too, and didn't seem to mind that he had a mother aside from herself, so Rose was glad to hear she was willing to be part of William's life as well. Their only provision was she couldn't decide years down the line to just take the boy and separate him from his brother.

Edward had very strong feelings about brothers. He was very clear that if she wanted to let the boys bond, it had to be a forever thing. That wasn't to say she would be stuck living with them forever, or that she wasn't allowed to move on herself, but that she always allowed the boys to see each other. She was fine with this arrangement.

Her son would always have a family this way, no matter what may or may not happen to her. She had spent months worried about what would become of her son should anything happen to her, but now that was no longer a concern. Rose did worry about these things often. She had seen more than enough death to know how fragile life was.

Something in her expression must have shown her pensive mood, because Hawkeye came over to her to ask her quietly if she was alright. She nodded silently as she watched the boys wander around the room, William following behind Yuery. Before she could think of anything to say to assure the older woman, the inner office opened, and Mustang stepped out with three Ishbalans.

Mustang spotted Yuery first, as usual, and completely forgetting his guests knelt down to call the boy to him. Yuery changed directions and rushed over to his grandfather to be scooped up. William arrived moments later, which Mustang clearly anticipated as he had still been kneeling. He scooped up the second boy before standing to look around for the other two children in the room.

The two men and elder woman who had been in the meeting with Mustang crowded around the General to see the boys. Rose smiled slightly when Mustang responded. "Yes, these are my grandsons. Yuery just turned two and William is nine months. Somewhere around here…let's see, ahah there they are! Are Hannah and Daniel. I was just talking to you about them."

Hannah shyly led her brother over to the group when Mustang mentioned her and her brother. He smiled down at them, but he was out of hands to pick anyone up, or even rub heads like he did at home. The elderly woman looked over the two children, before murmuring to the man next to her who was wearing sunglasses inside.

The final man, who had a rather large scar on his forehead, stood slightly apart from the others. Hannah walked over to greet him directly. He smiled down at the girl, even as the other two were assuring them all that they would find the children's birth family, if at all possible. Rose was relieved for this as well.

Eventually, Mustang managed to escort them all out of the door and down toward the parking garage where Hawkeye would then driving them home had not been part of the plan, but taking over with them usually.


	6. Horrors of the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rumor had it the boy was Mustang's son, who he only recently was acknowledging publicly. The boy had been in his command since the beginning though, and at an unreasonably young age too. They didn't look much alike, but rumor had it Mustang was involved with Hawkeye for years, and the boy was blond like her

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING
> 
> This chapter is rough. It contains Nina like chimeras, alcohol use from a minor (Edward), trauma reactions, and questionable interrogation techniques.

Chapter Six

Horrors of the Past

Laboratory Three

Chimera Research Department

2:00pm

Edward knew this would be bad before he walked into the lab. He knew this would test his resolve, and possibly have him considering running away. He wouldn't allow himself to do so, but he knew he might feel like it. What he hadn't expected was this chimera in front of him. It appeared to have been, at some point, a large dog. It was clearly spliced together with a human, possibly a young one.

Edward vomited. He couldn't help it as the past and the present overlaid themselves so neatly, not nearly as healed as Ed liked to pretend, instead more a festering wound that he barely noticed until bumped. He wanted to scream, and cry, and punch someone all at once. Instead he calmly kneeled in front of the cage and held out his hand for them to smell. "Hey there. Can you tell me your name? Do you remember?"

"It hurts." The chimera warbled instead of an answer.

"I know, I'm sorry." Ed said sadly, before grabbing the file hanging on a clipboard attached to the cage door. He flipped it open in search of a subject name. Again, he saw red, because this poor creature was not given a name but a serial number. According to the information Ed was sure it would all match up.

Ed placed the file in a pile he was beginning to piece together as he had Havoc and Falman manhandle the victims into the room they were processing them. Edward turned to the next cage, worse in that this chimera had died, and better in that they couldn't speak to him. It couldn't have been dead long, it was still slightly warm and they disposed of the failures rather quickly, to avoid the smell more than anything, but also because they were also keeping records of the autopsies.

All in all, so far, Edward had identified twenty human based chimera. None of them were perfect but several seemed to have retained their intelligence if nothing else. Which made them worse. Ed knew, deep in his bones he knew, that if one of these poor creatures asked him to play Ed would not rational in his treatment of the lead researcher. Of the twenty the had identities had all been serial numbers, as if by retracting their names they became less human.

The eldest victim, and they were victims, appeared to be the one he spoke to. According to the chart they had merged a two year old dog and an eight year old boy to create the poor thing. Ed wanted to vomit again, but there was nothing left in his stomach, as he reached the final cage. The deformed body inside seemed incapable of standing, though it was still alive. He couldn't bring himself to speak to it and felt terrible that he couldn't. He doubted the child would understand him if he tried.

This was the closest they had come to success according to the records. Prompting them to decide the next round of subjects would all be younger. The child was listed as a two year old girl, name unlisted, of Ishbalan decent. She had been merged with a housecat, less than a year old. Just looking at the child made him want to go home, gather his babies to him, and cry. Who could do this to children?!

5:00pm

It had taken most of the afternoon to go through the list of cages, before Ed finally had a chance to turn to the researchers. The sneer was too much for Ed. He ordered them all taken into custody to be sorted out tomorrow, and walked out. His fist clinched so hard he drew blood.

Havoc caught up with him as he reached the car. Wordlessly, he held out a flask to Edward. Ed eyed it for a moment before taking it and taking a long swallow before handing it back. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it Boss. I carry it for moments like these, started back when I started on Mustang's team. Some of this…it gets to you. I was impressed you walked away. Figured the son of a bitch was going to need dental surgery at least." Havoc said with a shrug. Ed was slightly comforted at the implication that his Dad had had bad reactions in the past. At least Havoc wasn't going to blame it on him being too young.

"They are all children. Every single one of those chimera are children. I want their names and where they came from. At the very least their parents need to know they are gone." Ed said after a few minutes. Havoc nodded and wrote a short note in the notebook he carried for these occasions. You never knew when the boss was going to give out orders, even if this was a new boss it was a good policy to have.

Neither of them addressed what would happen to these children. Chimera couldn't be reversed. They were stuck in the tragic state these monsters had left them in. Edward would not be making the final call on their fate, it wasn't his department to decide how to proceed. Investigations would be entering the situation now that it was confirmed they had been using people.

Ed watched pensively as traveling cages were carried out of the building and loaded onto the back of a truck. He hoped the children were not afraid of the behavior of the adults around them. Havoc waited until they had finished moving the arrested researchers into the back of transport before suggesting they head out themselves. Ed nodded before stepping forward to address his men. "I want this entire building sealed until we can get some people in to look around. No one goes in tonight."

He then turned to the car. "Let's go, I have other things that need my attention." Once they were in the car Havoc started in the direction of Edward's house. Ed didn't seem to notice at first, he was staring off into space, before he saw where they were. He immediately demanded to be taken anywhere else. He didn't want his brother or Winry, or the kids to see him this upset.

Havoc nodded in understanding before turning off of the main road. A few twists and turns later lead them to a bar Ed had never heard of, though judging by their looks it hadn't been open long. He raised an eyebrow questioningly but climbed out quickly enough. Havoc shrugged, "You're a Colonel before a teenager. With all the shit you've seen and done, no one's going to begrudge a beer…besides, your Dad's inside catching up with your Grandmother."

"Ah. Okay." Ed said, and though he didn't react externally, he was finding himself already slightly relaxed at the mention of his father. Dad understood, he'd seen and done terrible things. He didn't judge Ed for what happened today. Even if Ed did.

They walked inside the still empty bar, and Ed spotted Roy right away. He made his way over to the bar and without even looking at his father said to Madame Christmas. "I want whatever is strongest. Please."

"That bad?" Roy asked even as he nodded to his mother to confirm Ed's order.

"The eldest subject was eight… the youngest was two." Ed said as he picked up the shot of whiskey Madame sat in front of him, Roy signaled for another round for them both. "Two, Dad. The same age as my son. She was just a baby! How could they do that to her?"

"I can't explain the evil of men." Roy said in return as Ed slammed the drink back in one gulp as Madame produced another and Havoc joined them.

"I can't… I don't know if I can look at the kids and not see those things tonight." Ed said with a frown. "I'm a terrible father, turning my back on them."

"No you're human." Roy shrugged. "It's no different than the days I can't make bacon. It's no different than the days Hawkeye keeps her gun in hand. It's no different than your watch. Come tomorrow you'll want nothing more than to hold those boys close to you and never let go, but tonight you feel soiled by what you saw."

"How do you always know what I'm thinking?"

"He is you Boss. Hate to break it to ya, but you two have always been the same. It's why you used to fight so much." Havoc said with a shrug. "I already called your place, Rose and Winry took the kids to stay the night with Gracia. It's a boys night, Al stayed home in case you need him."

"Well shit." Ed sighed into his glass. "This will have to be last round, can't be going home drunk off my ass and get an Al lecture. M'head already hurts enough."

"We have work tomorrow anyway." Roy said as he stood and threw money on the bar. "Come on Ed, let's get you home."

Ed grumbled as he slid off the barstool and stumbled straight into Roy. Roy sighed melodramatically but steadied the boy who was now his size. It was obvious Ed didn't drink often with as quickly as he had been affected by the whiskey. Roy wasn't sure the boy had ever drank before at all. It was probably not his best parenting moment to hand his child alcohol to cope with today's trauma.

The problem was, there just wasn't a good way to deal with what happened. Roy should have stepped in and insisted Ed let him take over the case. Had he known they chimeras were going to be children he would have insisted. He knew how much his son had been destroyed by what happened to Nina Tucker. This was going to be just as bad, because though he didn't know any of these kids, there had been at least a dozen of them.

Worse too because they now knew there was a way to make successful Chimera which meant these children suffered because someone was either incompetent or wanted them to hurt. Either way, Roy hadn't seen them yet himself and he knew he was going to have nightmares. Ed saw them. Ed, who had a history with this exact trauma was the one who had been left to sort through the wreckage. If Ed felt like a bad parent for needing a night off after that, what kind of parent was Roy for talking his child into staying here and getting traumatized again?

Havoc sensed the shift in mood, and guided them both to the car, while taking care to keep track of their reactions. If it became necessary he could and would call Hawkeye to come babysit these two. Al would keep an eye on them, of course, but he may need help. Havoc could practically see the dark cloud hanging over their heads.

Roy and Ed stumbled out of the car as soon as they reached their house, they barely noticed Havoc limping behind them as they slowly made their way up the walk. Al yanked open the door just as they reached it, disapproval clear on his face. Havoc shook his head at the younger brother, as the elder struggled to remove his boots while leaning on their father. Mei appeared at the end of the hall, but when she saw their condition she slipped away again.

Roy kicked off his own boots, then excused Havoc before leading Ed upstairs. The best cure was to sleep it off, and water. Lots of water. Al turned to Havoc. "I don't think they want you to know the details. Ed had a rough case today. He needs time. Without the lectures."

"He's an idiot. Alcohol doesn't solve anything, and he's just going to feel worse for it. Dad too." Al said with a frown.

"Listen Alphonse. I know you don't approve, but you're going to have to let this one go. Hell, I plan on getting a few drinks in me when I get home myself after what happened today. So don't make this worse for them. Mustang knows how to prevent a hangover, he'll help Ed through it. This isn't going to be the last time though. You need to know that. The higher they climb the worse shit they see. We don't get to know the half of it." Havoc said. "Now that you're no longer following him on missions, you'll get to know even less. That's the way he wants it too, no more exposing you to the horrors this world has to offer."

Al started to protest further, but Mei appeared again at his side. She shushed him as she led him back to his room while reminding him that he wasn't supposed to be getting worked up right now. Havoc shook his head at the boy before listening carefully to be sure Flame and Fullmetal weren't going to butt heads while no one was around. It sounded quiet upstairs, and nothing had exploded so far, so he assumed as long as Al didn't go start a fight they should all be okay.

Roy had managed to get Ed to drink an entire gallon of water before the boy collapsed on Roy's bed. He then grabbed a large glass of water himself, and went to change for bed. When he returned, Ed had moved to take over only one side of the bed, and curled up as small as he could manage under the covers but was now sniffling. 'It would turn out that Edward was a weepy drunk', Roy thought with a sigh. The whole point of allowing the boy to drink was to let him forget for the night. It didn't seem to have worked. Roy laid down next to the boy, and said quietly, "It will get easier Ed. I won't say it will be all right, but it will get better." Ed rolled over to hug himself to Roy's side and let himself cry, Roy drifting off shortly after Ed.

Mustang-Rockbell-Elric Residence

1.:00 am

Roy was ripped from sleep by his son's scream right next to him. In an instant he was sitting up ready to snap, before he realized it was a nightmare. Ed was sitting up himself, hugging his automail knee to his forehead and attempting to slow his breathing. Roy lowered his hand, slowing his own breathing in the process before touching Ed's shoulder. "Hey, it's okay Buddy. I'm here."

Ed felt childish. This was the second time he had felt so downtrodden and scared he'd climbed into Roy's bed. He knew his dad said he didn't mind, and he probably didn't, after all Ed didn't mind when Al or Yuery needed to climb in bed with him. Still, he had gone most of his life without this, he shouldn't need it now. He was almost married father of two (sort of) and a colonel! He should be stronger than this. Yet somehow, having his father hug him and tell him he's okay helped more than anything else he had tried to keep the nightmares at bay.

Ed fell back to sleep listening to his father's heartbeat and the soft lullaby the man was humming under his breath. Ed may be too old for this, but he still needed it tonight. Tomorrow, tomorrow he could be brave, be the Colonel and the Fiancé and the Father he wanted to be, but for tonight, he got to be just the sixteen year old boy who had seen too much too soon and needed the loving comfort of a parents arms.

Court Marshal's Office

Interrogation Suite 3304

10:35 am

General Mustang was an impressively terrifying sight to most. Though he was not exceptionally tall or strong like Colonel Armstrong, he carried himself in such a way that he always seemed so much bigger. He man was a decorated war hero, he had fought against the immortal being that had nearly destroyed them all, while blind with his hands rendered nearly useless. He scared hardened criminals with a single hard look.

He was currently standing against the far wall, looking thoroughly bored while his subordinate took the lead. Not that Amos Hatch wanted to deal with Colonel Elric anymore than he had General Mustang. Elric was a lot like Mustang. He wasn't exceptionally big, and his delicate features lead to the idea that he leaned more toward academia. Who knew, in another life he might have. It didn't matter though, because in the end much like Mustang he was terrifying.

The silent rage that rolled off of the young colonel was enough to terrify three of the assistants into complete confessions before he did more than sit down. Unfortunately, they didn't know much. They were now sitting with Hatch, the lead researcher, the man that tempted Ed as much as Tucker into beating someone into a coma. The main thing holding him back at this point was that at least he hadn't tormented his own child. Unlike Tucker. Still, Mustang was here primarily to prevent Ed from snapping and doing just that.

"Why children?" Ed asked quietly. The first question he'd had to ask all morning.

"why not children? They're pliable, expendable, and cheaper to maintain." Hatch said in return, seeing no reason to deny it.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Ed demanded as he jumped to his feet. Before he could move, Mustang stepped forward and said his name in a flat voice. A voice Ed recognized as complete rage, though he had only heard it once that he could remember. "Have fun, I'm going to go let Armstrong know he can carry on with the paperwork. The son of a bitch didn't try to deny it."

Edward stepped out of the room, and Mustang took his seat. He stared at Hatch for a few minutes, calmly evaluating the man who seemed slightly less nervous once Edward had left, as foolish as the idea was. "I want the names of your subjects." Mustang said in the same tone as before. "Their families have the right to mourn."

"They had no families, orphans, all of them. No one wants or needs an orphan."

"You seem to have misheard me. I want their names. All of them."

"I have no idea. My assistant might know, but I sure a hell don't. Why name the pets in a slaughter house after all?

"I will give you one more chance. I need their names."

"I heard you perfectly, Flame, I just am not answering. Go ahead and throw me back in my cell."

"You deserve some much more." Roy pulled on his gloves, and Hatch didn't seem to get the threat.

"Oh please. This country was built by men doing so much worse." Hatch dismissed. "You can't do anything to me, my work was sanctioned."

"Your work was sanctioned under the old administration. You, and everyone else, received a Cease and desist order, yet according to the records you have created four since Promised Day." Roy growled, as he changed the Oxygen density in Hatch's lung until he was choking, gasping for breath. "I am the new administration, there would be no repercussions should it be discovered that I neglected to save you from smothering."

"You fool." Hatch gasped. "I was following orders."

Roy released the air, allowing it to fill Hatch's lungs. "Now, we're getting somewhere. Who gave the order?"

"Fuck you."

"See now we're back to that." Roy said and activated the array again. "When you want to talk just nod."

Hatch held out for several minutes, the panic adding to the feeling of smothering. Roy had calculated it down perfectly, there was no chance of permanent damage or death, but Hatch didn't know this. A few minutes later, when he was sure he was on the verge of death, Armstrong entered the room. Hatch had a brief glimmer of hope, Armstrong was known for being soft.

Instead, in a perfect imitation of his sister, Armstrong crossed his arms and watched with a blank expression. He, of course, knew what Roy was doing. Hatch finally gave a shaky nod and Roy released the array once more. "Archer." Hatch gasped. " The order came down from Frank Archer."

Without a word Mustang returned to his seat, and once again pushed a paper and pencil toward the prisoner. He still wanted the names of the victims. Hatch picked up the pencil with a glare as Edward returned to the room, having waited in the hall as requested. Hatch had determined that Roy was reluctant to use that little trick with Edward in the room.

Rumor had it the boy was Mustang's son, who he only recently was acknowledging publicly. The boy had been in his command since the beginning though, and at an unreasonably young age too. They didn't look much alike, but rumor had it Mustang was involved with Hawkeye for years, and the boy was blond like her…

"I'll report you, you know, for trying to kill me like that. The new administration isn't going to like that." Hatch said. He didn't buy for a moment Mustang's claim about being part of the new leadership.

"I wouldn't count on that." Ed said with a snort, well-rehearsed lines coming easily after everything this man had done. " Grandpa Grumman doesn't take child torture lightly. Besides, you look fine to me. Armstrong? Did you see Dad touch this guy?"

Hatch paled as every rumor he'd heard seemed suddenly confirmed. He was going in front of the firing squad for sure, and possibly Archer. With careful calculation he began to write, perhaps if he co-operated they would spare him.


	7. Reunited

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "A good parent wouldn't let their kid anywhere near this case."
> 
> "A good General recognizes when the best person for the job is available."
> 
> "The war that fights in my mind every day. Father versus General. Who will win this time?"

Reunited

Mustang-Rockbelle-Elric Residence

3:00pm

Roy and Edward finished with the prisoners, and instead of returning to their offices, headed home instead. The whole thing had been emotionally draining for them both. Roy hated his powers, hated using them on another human being, even if the other person had been in no actual danger, it made him feel terrible.

They had gotten some of the answers they needed at least. They had enough to start tracing it at least, because it was highly unlikely that Frank Archer, a Colonel, was acting alone. He was likely following orders from someone higher than him. Tomorrow, Mustang would look into he was currently answering to, though if he remembered correctly Archer was still under Hakuro's command.

Winry, Rose, and Mei were in the kitchen when they arrived. They were loudly debating what they should make for dinner, Winry wanting to make stew which she knew was Ed's 'comfort food', while Mei wanted to make a stir fry, and Rose was determined to make a casserole. Each of them was convinced iit would be the best thing for the men's hungover stomachs. Al had suggested earlier they make all three but the resulting glare lead him to escape with the children.

Alphonse was in the living room with Hannah, Daniel, Yuery, and William. Hannah was helping Daniel read a picture book, while Yuery was stacking blocks and William was attempting to knock over Yuery's blocks. Al was overseeing this game to ensure it didn't become mean. William had recently became very good at crawling, and was using his newfound skill to torment Yuery wherever he got the chance.

"Ugh! 'Liam NOOOO." Yuery yelled as the baby knocked over his tower once again. William giggled in response before hitting the blocks again.

"William, stop tormenting Yuery." Alphonse said calmly as he pulled the younger child away and handed him a rattle to distract him. William shook it loudly before throwing it, hitting Yuery in the forehead.

Before Al could react, Yuery plopped down and threw his head back in a loud wail. Ed had entered the room just as Yuery screamed, and Roy walked in just behind him. Ed scooped up Yuery to calm him down and look at the red mark, while Roy asked what had happened. Al explained the boys fight, but before anything else could be said there was a knock at the door.

Al jumped at the chance to answer the door and get away from the crying children. He hobbled quickly down the hall and pulled the door open before they had a chance to knock a second time. On the other side stood Scar, Miles, Sham, and a woman Al didn't recognize. Al frowned in confusion but invited them in.

Edward appeared in the hallway, Yuery still on his hip, and ignored the way Scar nearly winced at the sight of his uniform. Instead he asked if he could help them as Al took Yuery and disappeared into the living room.

"Who was that?" Miles asked curiously.

"That was Alphonse, and my elder son Yuery." Ed replied.

"Elder son?" Sham asked, confused.

"Yes, Yuery recently turned two. William is nine months old." Ed said. "Look I know there isn't a lot out there about my boys, that's the way I prefer it. Yuery's birthday was covered in the papers though. "

"I'm afraid we avoid the papers generally." Scar responded. Before he could continue Mei squealed and launched herself into a hug wrapping her arms tightly around his waist. He hesitantly patted her head, "I was also unaware that Mei had returned."

"Yes, she agreed to come trade alchemy forms with us." Ed said with a frown. So far the woman with them hadn't said anything, though she looked anxious. "Who is this?"

"Hello, my name is Ruth. I was told this is where Rose brought my children. Hannah and Daniel?"

Rose appeared next, and smiled when she saw the woman. "Ruth! Thank goodness, I feared you had died."

"Hello, Rose, it has been difficult, but it's getting better. We are told the Flame Alchemist is responsible for the recovery. We are grateful. I have come for my children."

"They are right through here, along with Roy Mustang and Alphonse Elric." Rose said, finally leading everyone out of the hallway. Winry had yet to appear, mostly because she had used the other's distraction to clear up everything else and begin the stew, effectively winning by default.

Scar visibly stiffened upon seeing Roy, who was still in uniform as well without the boots, though also holding William to his chest and swaying back and forth, leading to a less intimidating appearance. Miles and Sham were both unaffected outwardly by the man, and Ruth smiled at him.

She broke the ice, stepping forward to address him directly. "Flame Alchemist, I would thank you on behalf of my people for your help restoring our home."

"A home he burnt to begin with." Scar said angrily.

"Enough." Sham said before Scar could say anything else. "You seek redemption, as does he. Would you deny another their path?"

"He is a murder!" Scar said, not noticing Roy's flinch at the accusation. "He killed without mercy and now he dares to stand there holding an innocent like his hands aren't stained."

"You are a murder." Edward says quietly. "You have murdered in cold blood, over and over again. You have no place to judge him."

"Let go of your anger, only then can you be forgiven." Sham said calmly.

"He-" Scar started.

"He is a soldier." Miles said calmly. "Like myself he has been ordered to kill on occasion and he, like I, had very little say in it. He could have refused, and would now be sitting in a shallow grave, or he could obey and prepare the way for a future where it wouldn't be repeated. He chose the second path."

"He took the coward's path." Scar muttered.

"You know," Ed interrupted. "If the military were to start another war tomorrow, they would send me to the frontline. To kill."

"Edward…" Roy says in a pained voice. He knows it is true but hates to be reminded what could become of his son. Ed raises a hand to stop him.

"You said once, I am a child." Ed said to the Elder, who nodded. "I do not see myself as a kid. I haven't been in a very long time. War stole my childhood. It also stole his." Ed said pointing at Roy.

"It is different." Scar replied.

"No. It isn't you don't see it, but it isn't. He was just a boy when they sent him to kill, not much older than me. He has been eaten alive by the guilt since it ended. Do want to know why it took him so long to adopt my brother and me? Why he never had biological children? Why he's not happily married? Because of that damned war!" Ed said now ignoring everyone else in the room. "He blames himself so much that anytime he feels any happiness he spirals into deep depression. He finally adopted us to protect my son, because he would never allow himself to do so before then. He was a child."

"He was." Sham said calmly. "He has also done more for our people than any other General since then. I know it was you, Mustang, that was arranging the safe havens, and the food stores."

"It was the least I could do. My family did most of the work, I just set it in motion." Roy said quietly, as he held William a little tighter. Scar was right, of course, he had no business staining this innocent child with his presence. He didn't deserve any of these children. He didn't deserve Riza, who followed him into hell. He didn't deserve his sons, or his grandchildren. He selfishly clung to them anyway, because they made his life brighter, reminded him what future he was fighting for. Because he loved them and wouldn't let them go even if he should.

"Yesterday afternoon, I lead a raid." Ed continued. "As it is an ongoing investigation I can't give any details… they were children. The victims were innocent children. Twenty of them, the eldest was no older than eight. You want to look at this man, who was no more than a child when he was forced to kill, and claim he was a monster. I've seen monsters. Roy- Dad- isn't a monster. He was the weapon. Bradley was the trigger. Something not even human was the brain behind it all."

"It doesn't absolve his sins."

"Nothing can. You are not his judge." Ed replied, before returning his attention to Ruth, who had walked over to her children while they were fighting and hugged them to her. "Would you like to stay for dinner? What are your plans now?"

"We have a train out to the Kappa district where I came from originally at seven. I'm sorry we can't stay longer." Ruth said, smiling now that the fighting was over. "I am very happy to meet you General. As your son said, we do not blame you. Not most of us. Human Weapons is what you are called and it's an appropriate name because you were nothing more than weapons. I used to be very angry with you and all of your kind, but then I met my new husband and over time I saw the truth. He had been just a child in the war, and so were you."

"So, you're taking them already?" Rose said calmly.

"I- Yes, we are expected." Ruth said, smiling "Thank you again Rose. I don't know what would have happened to my children had you not watched after them for me."

"I'll go pack their things. Edward, would you mind William?" Rose said.

"You don't have to ask, you know that." Ed said with a frown, concerned. He glanced over at Mei who also looked concerned.

Hannah jumped up to go help Rose, and Scar and Miles excused themselves to wait in the car. Elder Sham stayed to talk to Roy further about his plans to restore their lands. Al went to go lay down, tired out from the afternoon of playing with four children. Yuery and William had both drifted to sleep while held, Yuery in Ed's arms, William in Roy's.

"Are you alright?" Ed asked quietly, now that Scar was out of the room.

"It was kind of you to defend me Edward, however-"

"Excuse us please ma'am." Ed said to Elder Sham before walking toward the study with Roy following behind. As soon as he closed the door, Ed turned back to his father. "I committed the ultimate taboo. Repeatedly. If it came down to it, I would do it again without a second thought. I often wonder if that means I am not fit to be a parent. Yet everyone says I am. It's the same for you Dad. You keep saying you shouldn't have us, everyone keeps saying you should, so I understand. I just need to know if you're okay."

"I'm not going anywhere Ed. I won't leave you. I don't deserve you, but I need you…and you need me." Roy said, and Ed relaxed visibly. He blamed this largely on the raid. It had left them emotional and drained. It dug up wounds that had never properly healed for them both, and they couldn't tell anyone else what it was that happened, but it made it all so much harder. Having Scar arrive now was not ideal.

"I don't need you to deserve me. No one ever deserves their children. Ask any parent. I know Maes felt that way, he told me so when I told him I was making a huge mistake keeping Yuery. Unless you just randomly walk out on your kids, or you actively are hurting your kids, then you keep them. Even though you're a fuck up. That's how it works." Ed said. "So no, I don't need you to feel you deserve us, I just need you to keep us…I don't know that I can make it through this case without you Dad."

"A good parent wouldn't let their kid anywhere near this case."

"A good General recognizes when the best person for the job is available."

"The war that fights in my mind every day. Father versus General. Who will win this time?" Roy said in an attempt at humor. Ed snorted so it worked somewhat.

"He explained in the end, That Man. I understood, but I couldn't forgive him. No matter his reasons, we were still all alone. We should head back to the living room it was rude to leave the Elder all alone like that."

When they arrived back in the living room, Winry had taken over with their guests. Ed sat on the couch, and placed Yuery next to him, then reached his arms up for William. Roy wasted no time placing the baby in his arms. With in a few minutes Ed had joined the boys' nap. Roy smiled at the sight and Winry sighed. Sham seemed to think it was amusing.

"He's doing better than yesterday. He needed a night away from them, though I was surprised he admitted it himself, now though I think he needs them close." Roy said quietly.

"What happened?" Elder Sham asked with concern.

"Difficult case, unfortunately he can't talk about it to anyone not already involved. It would make it easier if he could." Roy said as he quietly sat on the other side of Ed, across from Yuery, and carded his fingers through Ed's bangs. "You're right madam, what he said you said before? He is still so young. Far too young to be an expert. Unfortunately, he is the best expert we have. After everything that happened a few months ago, he's the only expert we have. I hated having to send him out to deal with it. I offered to send someone else to do the fieldwork, but he insisted that it needed to be him."

Before the conversation could continue, Rose slipped back downstairs with Ruth, Hannah and Daniel. Elder Sham stood, ready to leave, but Roy gently shook Ed awake to say his goodbyes. Ed handed the baby to Winry and knelt to hug the children good-bye, followed by Roy who had grown very fond of them very quickly.

Winry hugged them as well, as did Al and Mei, before they were lead outside with promises to call and write. Rose seemed to be alright, if a little sad, as she waved goodbye. She then said she needed a nap, and went upstairs, Ed frowned briefly, concerned about her wellbeing, but returned to the couch to finish his nap wedged between his two boys, using his Dad as a pillow.

Al and Mei disappeared toward the study to continue studying together. Winry returned to the kitchen to finish dinner, though she took a moment to take a photo of the four sleeping on the couch. After a few minutes considering it, Winry called Hawkeye and asked her to join them for dinner. She pointed out that both men had had a hard day and that Roy seemed to need the company. Hawkeye agreed to come, and bring Black Hayate, so she didn't have to worry about when/if she returned to her apartment.

9:00pm

It was bedtime, and they had yet to hear from Rose, aside from her telling she wasn't hungry. After a brief attempt to inform her, Ed and Winry just decided to keep William for the night. Riza ended up staying over as well, when she began to protest the idea Roy pointed out that they were engaged and she would be officially moving in in a few months…and that his sons could hardly be scandalized by her being here considering Winry and Mei both lived with them.

William slept on Ed's chest, with Yuery next to him and Winry on the other side of Yuery, her arm thrown across to touch the baby with Yuery's head nestled in on her chest. Roy, who had opened the door to peek and ensure they didn't need anything, smiled at the sight before checking on Mei down the hall.

Mei, as it turned out, was not yet in bed, so with a shrug he checked in on Rose, who was sleeping with her back to the door and didn't stir when he looked in. Roy then made his way downstairs to check on Al and presumably Mei since she hadn't been in bed. He found them asleep on the couch in the library surrounded by books. He briefly debated waking them to have them go sleep in their rooms, but was worried once he got them up, they would just return to studying.

He then let out the dogs for a few minutes while he wiped down the kitchen one last time before bringing them back inside and checking all the locks and traps. Once his nightly routine was completed, he returned to his room, where Riza waited, her hair still wet, in a pair of borrowed flannel pajamas, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Everything's locked up tight, the dogs are settled, and all the children are asleep."

"Do you really check on them every night?" Riza asked, it was so sweet of him, but she wasn't sure if it was a regular occurrence or if he had been trying to give her privacy.

"I check on them all every night." Roy said. "I am careful not to wake them, and should they still be awake, I talk to them for a few minutes, but generally by the time I do my rounds they are all sleeping. They don't always stay that way."

"How did Edward do last night, after you came home?" Riza asked as they laid down and Roy turned out the light.

"He spent the night clinging to me. I expected it. His handling of the interrogations today was where I was surprised. He was very calm. You could feel his anger radiating off of him but he remained very calm through the interviews, never raising his voice or making a threat." Roy said with a proud smile. "Of course, he had already known that threats were coming from me. It worked perfectly, he ended up telling us far more than we suspected."

"That's good. I'm glad Edward did well, do you think he will be alright tonight?"

"He should be fine, with the babies and Winry with him. Worse case scenario he comes and sits with me when the nightmares get bad enough that being with Winry doesn't help… I hope that won't be a problem for you that he has these nightmares?"

"Roy … I knew when we got together you had children. Children I already know and love. I don't care if he needs you, that's what fathers are supposed to do. Now lets try to sleep before we end up suffering at work tomorrow."

"Okay. Thank you Riza. I love you." Roy said, pulling her into a hug.

"I love you too. GO to sleep so I don't have to shoot you tomorrow…I already paid a deposit on the banquet hall. Nonrefundable."

"We can't have you loosing money like that. It would be a terrible shame."

"Exactly. And I gave them your account."

Roy groaned. He imagined the damage a wedding was going to do to his savings, let alone two in the same year. After buying two houses too. He was going to need a promotion. Al had better not intend to get married this year or Roy's bank account would cry. He groaned again at the idea. Once he answered Riza with his reason though, she laughed at him, and reminded him that neither AL nor Mei were legally old enough to marry yet, and it wouldn't be an issue for awhile. She then told him she had just been joking about the deposit.

"I don't mind paying for our wedding, I'm just worried about finances long term." Roy assured her.

"Well, don't worry about our wedding overly much. My father left a tidy sum that was stipulated to only be used for my wedding, so that's what it's paying for. I will make sure to spend it all, because that would annoy him." Riza said. "If I can figure out a way to pay for part of Ed's wedding with it I will as well." With that the couple finally joined the rest of the house in restless sleep.


	8. Wolves among Sheep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I'm talking about your son, Edward Elric, as you damn well know. Very clever having the boy enlist under his mother's maiden name so he could end up in your command, but it will all come out eventually."
> 
> "Edward Elric is my adopted son. Adopted. Last year as a matter of fact, and at the time he was not technically under my command, nor anyone else for that matter. He has since been reinstated based on his performance on the battlefield and proven himself to be a competent and worthy commander." Roy said calmly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains canon typical racism ( anti Ishbalan behavior) not by the main characters and kidnapping.

Wolves among Sheep

Central Command

General Mustang's Office

1:00 pm

General Mustang was pointedly not taking calls or visitors this afternoon. He had both of his grandsons in the office with him, and he was not eager to introduce them to the other officers today. The last few days had been terrible and had taken their toll on his son. He, therefore, had insisted on the boys staying with him and Edward spending the day with Winry planning his wedding. Mei meanwhile had gone shopping, and Alphonse was working with his therapist. Rose had still refused to come out of her room this morning, and they all agreed to give her one more day before Ed went to talk to her.

Yuery was sitting on the floor between the couch and the coffee table, coloring on a piece of scrap paper, while Roy held William in the crook of his arm as the baby slept when he heard a commotion in the outer office. A man was yelling loudly that he demanded to see Mustang right away, while Hawkeye was insisting that he was unavailable at the moment. Roy sighed heavily as the baby stirred. It wasn't time for him to wake up yet, and Roy had been doing so well not falling asleep with him too. Mostly because he couldn't leave Yuery unattended but still.

Mustang recognized Haralson's voice of course. The man had been a thorn in his side since the Academy and didn't seem to want to make peace now. Roy pretended not to hear the yelling as he continued to read and sign paperwork while humming to keep William from waking. Yuery had stopped drawing and was now staring at the door with a frown very reminiscent of his father's. Every time he got that look Roy was grateful it would be Edward, not Roy, who would have to deal with angry phone calls about the boy when he was a teenager.

The noise tempered down, and Roy assumed Riza had the situation handled. Yuery was still glaring at the door, but there was no further sign of trouble. Roy was about to encourage the boy to return to his coloring when the office door suddenly slammed open. Haralson stood on the other side breathing heavily, like he was either finishing a marathon or having a tantrum.

"I'm afraid I am not seeing visitors today Colonel. I am rather busy." Roy said, gesturing to the high stack of files in his inbox.

"I see you're still running a nursery out of your office. It seems to have doubled." Haralson replied. "One may wonder how it is you intend to fulfill the duties of your station while changing diapers."

"The same as any parent I imagine." Roy said. "Now please leave I have a lot to finish today and would like to get home on time."

"I need to speak to you about Colonel Archer." Haralson says instead of leaving. Roy frowns at him for a moment, eyes narrowed.

Finally, Roy slowly nods his head. "Very well, come the rest of the way in. Hawkeye would you mind watching the boys for a few minutes?"

"Not at all sir. Come Yuery." Hawkeye said as she reached for the boy, he happily took her hand and followed her out after she retrieved his brother.

Once the boys were gone and the door shut, Roy returned his attention to the other man. He waited expectantly, before asking Haralson to continue. "It's my understanding that Archer has been taken off of active duty until an investigation is completed."

"I would like you to site your sources, this level of breech is serious. It could potentially hinder the investigation." Roy responded instead of answering.

"It's a joke of an investigation, led by a short-tempered child, who managed to gain his reputation and rank through blatant nepotism."

"I'm sure that Colonel Armstrong would be pleased to hear he has retained his youthful appearance, but you will find he is not a child, nor did he gain his rank through such unsavory means. In fact, I can't think of a single officer in Central Headquarters that has, unless you know of someone?"

"I'm talking about your son, Edward Elric, as you damn well know. Very clever having the boy enlist under his mother's maiden name so he could end up in your command, but it will all come out eventually."

"Edward Elric is my adopted son. Adopted. Last year as a matter of fact, and at the time he was not technically under my command, nor anyone else for that matter. He has since been reinstated based on his performance on the battlefield and proven himself to be a competent and worthy commander." Roy said calmly. "As for the current ongoing investigation, yes, as part of his list of official duties he conducted an audit that led to several arrests. Since the arrests, however, the case had been turned over to Armstrong and Elric has continued on with duties."

"Really, because I stopped by his office before coming to yours and they said he was out of the office today."

"Fullmetal has many duties, some of which keep him from the office at times. He is still busy no matter where he has gone. Should you attempt to follow him yourself or order someone to do so, I will have you court marshalled. Now if there was nothing else, I am truly busy at this time. Do remember in the future to make an appoint me so that I can talk to me."

"Once Grumman's pet, always Grumman's pet. I heard Grumman even managed to get you marry his granddaughter, so now all we have to do is wait for you to cheat on the girl and you'll finally be out. Unless of course the poor thing is so ugly she'll put up with you to stay married."

"That is enough! Like it or not, I outrank you and if you continue to spew these nasty rumors, I will have you stripped of rank and sent to finish your contract in Briggs." Mustang said as he stood. "We'll see how well you fair with the mouth of yours under Armstrong."

"You can only get so far on luck Mustang. Just remember, some of us still remember the tiny useless boy who showed up to cause trouble in academy. Defending Ishbalans. Using your freak magic to jump ahead of us real soldiers, weaseling your way into high ranking idiots' pockets. I know the truth though, you and your bastard son are nothing more than traitors and scoundrels, and we will expose you eventually. Though how loyal the little bastard remains when he starts losing bits of himself is the question, isn't it?" Haralson then walked out of the office, ignoring a fuming Mustang. Mustang glared after him, already calculating the information Haralson let slip in his little rant.

"Hawkeye. I need you to take the boys back to my house and stay with them until I arrive." Mustang said in a deceptively calm voice. "Catalina, Falman, I want a complete list of visitors to the holding cells in the last forty-eight hours. Fuery, Heidrich with me. We need to look up some records."

Everyone was quick to follow his orders, and within moments the office was empty. Hawkeye had stopped by Colonel Elric's office to insist that Breda and Havoc join her so that the children were secure in the car. She also put Harris, Ross, and Broch in charge of locating their boss and strongly suggesting he join his sons at home.

Once they reached the car, Breda took the wheel while Riza and Havoc sat in the back each with a child in their arms and on alert. "What's the threat?" Havoc asked quietly as they carefully drove along.

"I don't know exactly, I wasn't in the room, and it may not have been clear had I been. Ro- Mustang knew the man back in Academy, and most of the man's previous statements to upset the General involved mentions of events from that time." Riza said, shaking her head. "whatever it was though, he wanted the boys immediately secured away from command, and since he is searching records, I assume the threat involves multiple parties. "

Mustang-Rockbelle-Elric Residence

It was evident as soon as they arrived something was wrong. Franklin the Great was sitting on the front lawn, howling. She barely moved as they approached but showed no signs of injury. Havoc was given the task of watching both boys while Hawkeye and Breda cleared the house. Hawkeye had even insisted Havoc jump to the driver's seat when Breda climbed out. He then put Yuery in the passenger seat and William in his lap.

Hawkeye and Breda approached the front door with caution after adding Franklin to Havocs charges. Cobalt had not been outside, which was concerning in that the animals seemed to always be together. Hawkeye entered first, low to the ground in a near crouch allowing Breda a clear shot behind her. They made their way into the foyer before Hawkeye turned into the Living room and Breda the kitchen. Both rooms were empty, so they continued on, until they had cleared the floor entirely, Hawkeye had found Cobalt in the Library.

After meeting in the Foyer, they ascended the stairs with equal caution, before separating, Hawkeye clearing the Master Bedroom suite, and Guest room currently occupied by Mei Chang though she had not been home. Breda cleared Edward and Alphonse's (Currently Rose's) rooms, before the nursery and playroom. They again met at the top of the stairs and nodded before putting away their guns.

Every room in the house had been ransacked. Books had been thrown around and torn apart in every room, shelves and drawers emptied onto the floor. Yuery and William's toys were everywhere, a few of them torn apart. There was Ishbalan writing on the walls of every room, in what appeared to be blood. "We need to contact the General." Breda said in a tight voice. He wasn't fluent in Ishbalan like Havoc and Hawkeye, but he knew enough that what was written was terribly threatening.

"We do. Someone is trying to start a new conflict." Hawkeye said. "This was a good imitation, but this was not written by someone fluent in the language. There are several threats written here that need to be taken seriously."

"No one was in the house today correct?" Breda asked, concerned.

"As far as I know, they were all otherwise engaged. Excuse me I am going to borrow the phone for a few minutes."

She was able to catch Mustang before he left the records room. "Mustang. I believe you have completed all of your paperwork for the day and would find you should return home at this time."

"I believe that was my intention, yes." Mustang said stiffly after a brief pause. "Thank you for the reminder."

She hung up quickly, before looking at the list of contacts. If Ed and Al had decided to stop by Gracia's at some point, she would be able to leave a message for them to return home as well. She called Gracia'ss number before she could change her mind and asked if the other woman had seen either boy. As it turned out, Al and Mei had arrived a few minutes earlier to visit with Gracia and the children. Al was on the line quickly. "Alphonse, I believe you probably return home at this time, do you know if your brother intended to meet you at Gracia'?"

"He will be here any minute. Did something happen at home? Is Dad okay? The boys? Rose?"

"Your Father is on his way to the house now, and the boys are fine. Do you know where Rose went today?"

"Rose was staying home today. She didn't feel up to going out, she was a bit sad after the kids went home yesterday."

"She isn't here…" Riza said quietly as a terrible sinking hit her. "Wait for your brother before you come."

Riza hung up quickly, then rushed back up the stairs to the room she assumed belonged to Rose and William. Among the scattered and ripped articles of clothing and toys on the floor she found the short letter. She sank onto the bed as she read it quickly.

Flame,

You interfered for the last time.

Next time, this will be one of your sons.

This was going to tear them apart emotionally. If they didn't find her soon… it may already be too late, there was no ransom. This was revenge. Riza tried to think of a possible list of abductors. There shouldn't be too many people on that list that could write passible Ishbalan, but still make the grammatical errors on the walls consistently.

Once they took photos of the threats on the walls, they would need to erase them before calling in the military investigations department. Any rumor that this may have been done by the people of Ishval had to be taken care of, they could not allow this to restart the war. In the end, that was exactly what these people who did this were attempting and she knew Roy and Edward would agree with her on the matter.

With this in mind, she went to Roy's room and dug around until she found his camera. She checked the film and was pleased to find it was a new roll; Roy tended to change over quickly, but she would hate to have photos of this on the same roll as photos of the kids.

By the time Roy and the others arrived, she had photographed every room from every angle she could manage and had begun to fill a bucket with bleach and water to clean the walls. Ed and Roy walked into the kitchen and Roy turned off the water without a word.

"I had Havoc drive the kids over to Gracia's, Winry and Mei are still over there. He and Breda have been instructed to stay with them until I come for them." Ed said in a flat voice. "Al went with them; I don't want him to see this. Was there any evidence as to where Rose may be?"

Reluctantly, Riza pulled out the note and handed it over to the teen. He read it silently before cursing and passing it on to Roy. Roy read it twice, his expression turning dark and cold. "It's written in Amestrian. Everything else is written in Ishbalan. I don't think this part was preplanned. She must have interrupted them, and – "Riza said.

"If she isn't dead already, she will be before we can find her. I already have investigations out searching for her, and half of the privates stationed here in Central are doing a door to door canvas." Roy said. Ed hung his head and clinched his fists before walking out of the room without a word.

Roy followed his son, Riza trailing after. Ed stopped first in the living room and looked around before clapping his hands. "It's blood on the walls, for sure, but judging by the makeup it's animal blood... Cattle. Probably taken from a butcher with the amount used." Ed analyzed the room before the blood cleared from the walls and floor in a flash of blue light, gathering in the small waste basket by the couch. "We should get a bucket for the other rooms; they don't all have free baskets."

A second clap repaired the damage to the furniture and books, though they remained strewn around. He would have to clean the room later. With a grunt of satisfaction, he moved on to the next room. Roy had watched him work, and with a start realized he knew exactly what arrays Ed had preformed to clean the walls and make the repairs. He headed for the stairs, intent on finishing the top floor as Ed did the bottom.

They finished in this manner in under twenty minutes, just as Armstrong arrived with an investigation team. Roy and Riza silently agreed that they would inform only Armstrong of the cleaning they had done. He wanted another war even less than Roy did. He would see that it had been the intent though.

Roy went in search of his son, while Riza talked to Armstrong. He found Ed in the backyard with the dog and cat. Ed was sitting on one of the patio chairs, with his knees pulled up to his chest, and his chin resting on the left (metal) one. Roy sat next to him and waited for the blame to begin so he could redirect it.

They sat like that for a while, Roy watching Ed stare into space. Finally, very quietly, Ed said. "Rose is dead, isn't she?"

"I don't know, but it is likely." Roy said with a sigh, as Ed sniffled. "It was an attack on me Edward. You read the note. This is about me, it has nothing to do with any of you kids, you're just collateral damage to these people, a way to gain more leverage."

"I brought her here to keep her and her son safe. I brought them here and now he's another orphan." Ed said. "I was too heavy handed over the Chimera, that what started this. They may have come for you eventually, but the timing points to the lab investigations."

"It is possible they are hoping to distract from the labs; it's just as likely, and more probable that they are trying to derail the restoration of Ishval." Roy hugged Ed to his side as he talked. "Either way, this attack was about me, not you. If you need someone to blame, blame me. I should have anticipated the need for more security and arranged it. Instead I assumed any attacks would happen in or around the office and my family would be safe. I will be arranging more security from now on. William has you Ed. He has you, and Alphonse, and me, and Winry, and Riza. He's not all alone, even if… even if we can't get her back."

"Okay." Ed hugged Roy back, not really believing his Dad that he was blameless, but needing the conversation to be over as quickly as possible. "Wait. What time did the attack happen? Did anyone check to be sure they didn't hurt Ms. Bella? She was here this morning."

"I will send Fuery and Falman around to check on her." Roy said, not entirely sure what timeline they had just yet. "What time did you leave today?"

"We were out of here around eleven…I tried to talk Rose into coming with us. Al and Mei had already left about ten."

"Okay, so Ms. Bella is usually here until about noon… if this happened after she left, and for now I'm going to assume it did as there were no messages left about her, then they were here sometime between twelve, and half past one when Riza arrived."

"The walls were mostly dry, it was likely closer to noon, with the current temperatures, unless they have an alchemist with them…no they wouldn't, I didn't sense any residual energy. So closer to noon. That still… with this kind of damage, I'd guess they were in here at least thirty closer to forty minutes. Canvas the neighbors, the lady across the street is always home during the day."

"I'll put some people on it right away." Roy stood, already calculating.

"Good, I'll have them start looking into disgruntled workers from Three, see what they can dig up." Ed stood as well, headed toward the backdoor as he spoke.

"You don't need to do that; I can take care of it." Roy said as he reached out for the boy.

"I am not a child, Dad. I am a father, soon to be a husband, and most importantly to this I'm a colonel. You didn't leave it to others when it was Hughes…please try to understand. I HAVE to do this. If I'm going to sit here one day and explain to my sons that I failed their mothers…the least I can do is be able to honestly claim I did my best to avenge them. I- I can't do that for Yuery. The Bastard that killed his birth family took himself out at the same time, but I CAN find them for William."

"You have no idea how hard it is to gain a child who already doesn't need you." Roy said with a sigh. "I am sorry Edward; I will do everything I can to help you find the people who took her. We will find her dead or alive."

"I do need you. I DO. But I also need to do this." Ed said, as he turned back to hug his dad. "I need you Dad; I am sorry to make you feel like I didn't."

"No matter how hard you try, you can't push me away. You're stuck with me kiddo." Roy said hugging the boy back, he realized his misstep in his wording Ed was very insecure about parents and was constantly waiting for Roy to change his mind. "I will be your Dad even if you have a dozen kids of your own…please don't have a dozen kids of your own, I don't think my heart could handle the stress."

"I think we're sticking to half that actually." Ed sniffed and pulled away. "Thank you for understanding Dad. I love you."

"I love you too. Now let's go find these people. Together."


	9. Magic vs Alchemy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicolas Flamel is Xerxian. I can't find any pictures of him, but his description…he's hundreds of years old." Ed finally spoke again as they climbed in the car.
> 
> "Another Father?"
> 
> "I'm not sure."
> 
> "We'll look into it. Together.

Magic vs Alchemy

Central Library

Restricted Archives

2:00am

"You know Edward, when I said you needed to take a break from the case, this isn't what I meant." Roy said as he sat down across from his son. In the week since Rose disappeared Ed had barely eaten, and if he had slept at all Roy missed it. He was near collapse. He was also stubborn and refused to relent until he had answers. Unfortunately, all they were hitting was walls.

At noon Roy had ordered Ed to go home and rest for a while, and he had, but when Yuery had thrown a tantrum that had resulted in some very strange shapes for the shrubs in the backyard, Ed had mentioned the library and disappeared form the house, according to Winry. That had been twelve hours ago. "According to the research of Godric Gryffindor magic and alchemy pull from the same energy source." Ed said instead of responding. "Salazar Slytherin disagrees, citing the mention of the 'elusive' Gate."

"Ed." Roy tried again, letting the exasperation tint his tone. It had been a rough few day for all of them.

"Nicolas Flamel disagrees, as a Wizard Alchemist he feels that the power itself comes from the Earth, but Alchemists use the Gate to control it, whereas Wizards funnel it directly through their bodies." Ed carried on as if Roy hadn't spoken, turning a page and making another note in his new journal.

"As fascinating as centuries old theory is, you need sleep Ed." Roy tried again, physically closing the book after setting a bookmark in between pages.

"I need to protect my sons. This is how I do that." Ed nearly whispered without looking up from his notes. He was feeling useless unable to make any headway in Rose's kidnapping or in finding a way to help Yuery learn to control magic.

"They need you at home." Roy said gently, worried about how close to collapse his son seemed.

Ed's pen stopped as he squeezed it before looking up, hurt clear in his eye. "I'm not Him."

"No one said you were." Roy realized too late how Ed would make that connection, now he needed to do damage control. "You could stay here all week and the boys wouldn't remember you disappearing for such a short time. However, you are going to work yourself into a hospital bed for exhaustion if you keep going like this."

"I can't repeat his mistakes Dad. He thought he was doing the right thing for us too. Look how that turned out. You're right, they need me to come home. I just…I'll come back in the morning. Spend the day finishing these books. They seem the best option on teaching him not to use it, until he's old enough to control it." Ed started piling the books on the edge of the research desk to let the library staff know they were still in use.

"Nicolas Flamel is Xerxian. I can't find any pictures of him, but his description…he's hundreds of years old." Ed finally spoke again as they climbed in the car.

"Another Father?"

"I'm not sure."

"We'll look into it. Together. After you sleep."

Hogwarts

Headmaster's Office

Mid-Afternoon

Dumbledore had called Lupin, Snape, and McGonagall to meet him in his office. Lupin arrived via flue as Snape and McGonagall entered via the stairs. Dumbledore looked very concerned but waited until everyone had settled before beginning. "Our informant had some very disturbing news this morning at the weekly update. A member of the Elric household was recently kidnapped while no one else was home. Don't worry it wasn't young Harry, but it was one of the young ladies that live there."

"Which one?" McGonagall asked, concerned not only for Harry's safety, but also for these people who had seemed pleasant enough to her. Even if they had treated her harshly upon discovering her secret. Though if she were being honest, she doubted if the situation was reversed, she would have been any kinder.

"A Ms. Rose Thomas." Dumbledore said. "It appears whatever happened the rest of the household is assuming she is dead. They are still searching for her however and have increased security around the house severely. The children are being kept inside, and no one is allowed aside from the family and the maid. It is unclear if they will be allowing the maid to continue."

"Does the informant have any idea who may have done this?" Lupin asked, concerned they may return as further threats to Harry.

"The general opinion seems to be that it was either in retaliation to an investigation that led to several arrests by Colonel Elric the day before the kidnapping. They have also considered an old enemy of General Mustang is attempting to use her kidnapping to restart a war that happened a few years back. There is no indication that any magic was involved, but as they wouldn't know how to see the signs of magic, we can not rule out death eaters as a possibility."

"So, are we sending someone to look into it?" Lupin asked cautiously.

"Severus, if you would be so kind?" Dumbledore said, turning to the young teacher. He rolled his eyes in return. Dumbledore loved to make an order sound like a request, but it was still an order.

"I shall do my best to gain answers without tipping our hand. It was not Death Eaters; however, they are firmly under the impression the child is dead."

"You're certain none suspect?" Lupin asked

"I only know otherwise because I was informed directly. Before you question my loyalty again, remember I took the unbreakable vow, I cannot reveal anything in regard to Harry's survival to someone with the dark mark, until I am ordered to by the one who made the vow. I noticed you haven't created the same commitment."

"My loyalty has not come under question, aside from by you Severus." Lupin said with a sigh. "If it would lay your concern to rest, I'll do it now."

"I believe it would." Snape replied simply. "As a precaution of course."

"Dumbledore?" Lupin said without looking away from Snape.

Moments later found both McGonagall and Lupin kneeling along with Dumbledore as Snape watched on.

"I vow, upon pain of death, that I have not revealed Harry Potter to be alive to another soul, living or dead." The pair began, and the first string tied them to Dumbledore.

"I vow to do anything and everything in my power to keep Harry Potter safe until which time he can defend himself." Came the second, brighter string.

"I vow to not reveal the continued existence of Harry Potter until Albus Dumbledore has said otherwise." Came the final string sinking into their arms brightly before fading away.

After they had all stood, Dumbledore said quietly. "Kingsley has already made the vow, after checking with Gringotts. They had known all along the boy was alive, but it is against their own vows to reveal personal information of their clients."

"I am going now, make sure the students do not blow up my rooms." Snape said before disappearing into the fireplace, a small bag of supplies at his side. Lupin watched with a frown. It bothered him that Snape was being trusted with something so sensitive, but he knew this was largely thanks to his desire to go aide the search. This woman had been important to Harry, hopefully they found her alive. Dumbledore reminded Snape, again, not to make direct contact, instead he was to watch to see what they would do.

Dumbledore, meanwhile, decided it was time to ask another alchemist for help and wrote Flamel. Hopefully, Fawkes could find him quickly. Fawkes would find anyone still alive, but sometimes it took a while, especially if they were on the hidden continent. The last time he had attempted to get a hold of Flamel, over two years ago, it had taken nearly a month to get a reply.

Colonel Elric's Office

1:00pm

Ed had the boys with him in the office, as he had every day since Rose disappeared. He could bear to have them out of his sight for long. The only exception was the library, because he had been informed, they weren't allowed in the archives. Even then, he made sure Al, Winry, and Mei had all been there to watch over the boys.

After his first trip to the archives, Ed had intentionally limited himself to three hours of research, and had made a deal with his Dad that Roy would come to collect him at that point to ensure he stuck to it. For now, though, he was reading through the latest report on the Chimera case while William slept in his lap and Yuery sat in the space under his desk, carefully flipping through a book on animals.

Havoc came in a few minutes later, to announce that Ed had a visitor. "He doesn't have an appointment, sir, but he said he thought he could help find Ms. Thomas."

"Tell him I will be available in the second conference room in fifteen minutes, but do not let him leave or make any calls." Ed said stiffening as he reached for his phone himself. Havoc nodded as he left the room and Ed dialed the in-office connection to reach his father. "General, I need you to meet me in conference room two in a few minutes. It's about Rose."

Ed then looked down at his sons, there was no way he was letting a stranger near his boys at this point, not that he had ever been especially open to strangers around the boys. He called for Breda and Ross to come into his inner office. When they arrived, he asked them to watch over the boys for him, then placed William in the playpen sitting in the corner and told Yuery to keep quiet so his brother could sleep.

Conference Room Two

The man waiting for them was dressed in a similar manner to the way had dressed in the field for years. He had on Black pants and boots, a black dress shirt under a black jacket. He didn't have the complexion for the style, his skin appeared sallow and his black shoulder length hair lank. He stood facing the window with a very stoic expression. He had his hands clasped behind his back and held his back stiffly, but his shoulders slightly bent as if he was hiding exhaustion.

Roy spoke first, clearing his throat before stating. "We were informed that you may have information of the Thomas case?"

"Yes, my name is Severus Snape." The man said as he finally turned around, frowning slightly at the sight of an extra person. It had been his intent to reveal himself as a wizard and offer his services, but it was a risky move given the country's stance on magic. Elric had already encountered magic. Snape had no idea if this other man had been kept up to date.

"I'm General Roy Mustang, and my son Colonel Edward Elric." The man said as the blond nodded then gestured for them all to take a seat.

"I have read about you in the newspapers." Snape begins, he had read all about them, everything that had been printed in the last three years. It had taken him three days to read through it all, it was also when he came to the idea it may be safe to reveal his magic. "I saw in the paper this morning, that your housemate and former lover had been kidnapped Colonel. I felt I needed to do something to help."

Edward opened his mouth to deny the claim, but then remembered that he was going to have to start letting that one go like with Yuery. Instead he focused on the other confusing part. "How do you think you can help?"

"Well, that is. It would be highly illegal for me to do it, and just mentioning it could have me disappeared…if not for those poor children…" Snape said, knowing he was playing it up a bit. He hadn't ever been good at this kind of thing; he was attempting to seem shy and unassuming. He continued by lowering his already quiet voice to a near whisper. "You see. I have a bit of talent in magic. I know a seeking spell that could find her whereabouts, no matter her current condition."

"You're a wizard?" Edward asked, stiffening. Once again, the wizards had found him and his son.

"In a fashion. As I'm sure you know it is illegal to practice magic in Amestris. My father was very opposed to all forms of magic. My mother was a witch, she showed me what she could secretly." The best lies, were incomplete truths. Snape had learned this long ago. The sympathy he was sensing from both men seemed to indicate that once again the method had worked. Perhaps this could open doors to further communication after he helped find this girl. He was concerned for her wellbeing, from what he gathered her chances were rather bleak.

"Excuse us a moment please." Edward said, as he walked toward the door, Roy leading the way. This was Ed's situation, but they were inside headquarters, so Roy had to be seen as the leader. He fully intended to defer to Ed however, Ed was the one taking all the risks with this one. Roy was on the fence about it, he knew the guy was holding back information, that much was obvious to him, but if he was a threat was a different question altogether. Ed, for his part, also knew the man was lying in part. He felt that trusting him to an extent was safe. Weeks of reading Qi had only taught him so much however, and before they moved forward, he was going to have Mei get a read on the guy.

A few minutes later they had decided. They would ask the man to meet them at a restaurant to further discuss the issue because they were not inviting the man into their home or letting him have the address if he didn't already. They would have Al and Mei meet them, and leave the children with Riza and Winry under guard at Gracia's. Some may feel it was excessive, but trust was not easy for them even before the year they'd just endured.

Roy slipped away to make the necessary calls, and to contact Madame about having a private dinner at her new bar. Edward went back to the conference room to speak with the man further. He was once again staring out of the window with his hands clasped behind his back. Before Ed could say anything, the man, Severus, if he could be believed said "You don't trust me. You shouldn't. Trust is earned. I will earn your trust if you will allow me a few moments of your time."

"I am willing to listen to you. Meet us this evening at seven at this address. If this is a trick however, you will find yourself in a very unpleasant situation." Ed said as he handed the man a slip of paper. He congratulated himself on picking up subtle threats from Greed.

Madame Christmas Bar and Lounge

7:00pm

Ed and Roy had both changed before they headed toward Madame's. Now dressed in matching white button-down dress shirts and black slacks, they could blend in slightly better with the crowd. Al chose to dress in a similar manner, with Mei wearing a red silk dress. When they arrived, Vanessa led them straight to the private room Roy had requested. Their mystery guest had already arrived a few minutes before and had seated himself on the far side of the table, though he stood when they entered.

Al took the lead, introducing himself with a handshake and pleasant smile, before Mei did the same. Edward and Roy saw no reason to shake his hand, though both nodded by way of greeting before everyone found their seats. Snape continued to sit on the far side of the table, whereas Roy sat with his back to the door, which in any other public location he would have refused. Edward sat to Roy's left and Alphonse to his right, with Mei next to Al. There were still half a dozen empty seats between her and Snape.

"Order what you would like, the food here is wonderful." Roy said politely, without bothering with the menu.

Edward left his menu closed as well, intending to just order whatever his Dad did so that he could keep an eye on the table. Al, on the other hand, was carefully going over the menu as if it was lost research. He did this on every one of the handful of occasions they'd had to take him out to eat. It was still so new to him. Snape seemed unconcerned with the way Ed and Roy were watching him as he gazed down at his own menu.

Mei was pretending to look it over, while paying attention to Snape in search of any ill will he may harbor toward the Elrics. The room was silent for about five minutes before their waitress, a girl named Trudi who Roy vaguely recognized, came to ask for their orders.

Roy ordered the spinach quiche and a glass of red wine. Everyone followed suit, which amused Roy. Al always ended up ordering whatever Ed did, and Mei only read a little of their language so she usually did the same, so when Ed decided to just go with whatever Roy ordered he'd expected all the kids to order with him, though the fact that Snape did as well surprised him. Snape seemed to notice Roy's amusement and explained with a shrug that it seemed the popular choice.

Roy pointedly changed Mei and Al's drinks to milk. Ed smirked at his brother briefly, but wisely chose not to tease him or have his order changed as well. They sat in silence until Trudi returned with their food ten minutes later and locked the door behind her so that they would not be interrupted again. Snape was not nervous only because he was relatively sure there were no anti-apparition spells on the building.

"I'm assuming you had more questions for me?" Snape said simply.

"A few." Ed replied. "To begin with, why did you decide to approach us now?"

"I read in the papers that Fuhrer Grumman and Emperor Yao intend to open a joint alchemy and magic academy. I assumed that the ban on magic users may be lessening. At least enough to allow me to offer my limited services."

"That's a nice story, unfortunately, it seems a little convenient." Roy said as he cut into his dinner. "You dabble in magic, yet just happen to have a spell that can help us find the girl who was kidnapped from my home just hours after threats were made that they intend to unseat me by showing that I am … unconventional… with some rules."

"Are you suggesting that I am involved in taking the girl, sir?" Snape asked, barely able to contain his anger at the accusation, implied or otherwise.

"You weren't involved in taking her. You aren't offering to save her for altruistic either. You are hoping to gain favor with the Mustang-Elrics for reasons of your own… though you wish them no ill will." Mei said as she read his emotions and intent.

"Mei happens to be the younger sister, and third heir of Ling Yao." Edward said to Snape's questioning gaze. "She is a master at qi sensing. She'll know if you lie."

"Very well." Snape said with resignation. That made this slightly more difficult but not impossible. He simply had to do what he had done earlier in the office and tell half-truths.

"Are you here to attempt to steal either of my brother's sons?" Al asked pleasantly but the malice was beneath the surface.

"I have no intention of taking either of those boys from your brother's care." Snape said honestly. After watching them secretly, he felt that the boy was in the best place possible for him, and perhaps he wouldn't turn out just like his worthless birth father after all. Which was something Snape greatly feared about the boy originally.

"What do you know about Rose's disappearance?" Ed demanded.

"Only what has been said in the papers."

"The story you told us earlier, about your parents. Was it true?" Roy asked.

"Yes." Snape answered a bit snappishly which only served to make Roy believe him. The only other person he had seen have that kind of reaction was Edward when someone brought the man up, Ed could rant for hours on the subject. Snape had the same distasteful expression meant even after all this time working with the boy and living with him and Roy still didn't know enough to ease that pain.

"Do you know Albus Dumbledore?" Edward asked, and the others all frowned at him in confusion. "Dumbledore is the one I told you about."

"Everyone who is in the magical community for more than five minutes knows Albus Dumbledore." Snape said, the half-truth better hold water, or we are in serious trouble, he thinks.

Mei gave one last nod before she and Alphonse left the table. They intended to head over to Gracia's to make sure everything was alright over there. Ed frowned and huffed, and Roy suppressed a sigh. Time was not on their side on this. They were not certain what was happening to Rose, if she was alive or dead at this point, but if there was even the slightest chance she could have been saved and they let it slip away…he knew Edward would never forgive himself.

If this man turned out to be a threat to Yuery though, Roy would personally burn him at the stake. No one threatened his family. No one. Roy had given up on the delusion that he was a good man in the deserts of the East. He would not allow the world to break his children the same way. "Alright. Let's talk about this… spell."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well. I'm officially under quarantine. This does not currently have an effect on the story but I'm fairly certain that everything I write this weekend is a mess as I don't really remember the weekend... So it may cause delays in the next story release. I'll try to maintain the same posting schedule as much as possible.


	10. Unexpected Ally

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I won't answer questions about my kids, so don't bother to ask it'll just piss me off. Secondly, when you go back to wherever you came from, and I know you aren't from here, do not mention my family to whoever you report to. At all. Don't even mention them in passing without namedropping. Finally, I am in charge during this raid. That means if I tell you to stay back, you stay back if I say move you move

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning:
> 
> This chapter contains vaguely graphic description of a corpse

Unexpected Ally

Colonel Elric's Office

8:00 am

Edward had arranged for Severus to meet him in his office before anyone, aside from Havoc, arrived. Ed sent Havoc to find him some coffee, because of course William had been up half the night when Ed had an appointment before official office hours.

Severus Snape was effectively a ghost. There were no records of him. He wasn't born here, he didn't enter the border, he had no documentation at all. Ed was briefly reminded of Ling, but pushed it aside. He wasn't going to like this guy or trust him. This wasn't some desperate kid trying to save his country, it was a random adult who Ed still didn't get.

He said it would take the night to prepare the spell, and to bring a personal item of Rose's with him to meet because it would be the final ingredient. Ed had agreed and gone through Rose's room last night before settling on her prayer beads. He hoped the spell didn't damage them, but Ed assumed they would be the best choice since Rose never went anywhere without them.

Severus slipped silently into the office at exactly eight and nodded a greeting to the grumpy looking Colonel. Ed nodded back before he said, "Look, I'm semi trusting you on Mei's go ahead, but I have some ground rules."

"Very well."

"First of all, I won't answer questions about my kids, so don't bother to ask it'll just piss me off. Secondly, when you go back to wherever you came from, and I know you aren't from here, do not mention my family to whoever you report to. At all. Don't even mention them in passing without namedropping. Finally, I am in charge during this raid. That means if I tell you to stay back, you stay back if I say move you move."

"Would you like me to make it a vow to set your mind at ease, Normally, it would require another wizard, but I can manage it on my own."

"…I think yes, that would go a long way toward earning trust." Edward said reluctantly. "I am still not introducing you to my sons, or giving you any information about them."

"I know what the papers say. That is all I need to know to assure me you are a devoted father, your continued insistence that we do not speak of them only confirms this." Snape said smoothly. He firmly believed this boy was devoted to keeping the children safe and happy. He wasn't certain how he felt about a child raising two babies, but the General seemed just as involved. "I know the elder one is two and the younger is under one; that thanks to recent events they have now both lost their mothers; that you have taken extraordinary steps to keep them out of the public eye… and that neither one of them look a thing like you. They must take after their mothers."

"I am grateful those boys take after their moms. They are lucky." Ed said quietly. He hoped that one day, when he and Winry had children together, they took after her.

Without further delay, Snape made the vow, binding it to Elric. It was a simple vow, but powerful. "I vow, upon pain of death, to not reveal anything Edward Mustang-Elric tells or shows me about his children to anyone. " Snape began and Ed watched with fascination as the first thread weaved around their hands. "I vow that I will only move to aide in the safety and health of any member of the Elric family, never to cause harm." A second string weaved around, as Snape took a deep breath. "I vow to do everything within my power to keep any wizards from causing harm to any of the Elric Children." The final string glowed brightly as it weaved around them before sinking into their skin.

Snape slowly let go before explaining further. "With this vow in place, I can not reveal anything about you. Even if I were given a truth potion, the vow would tie my tongue. It is now impossible for me to betray you to any wizard."

"…Good." Ed said, still staring at his hand. The power he had felt during the spell casting had felt different than alchemy, but not as different as he was expecting. Closer to the difference he felt when attempting Mei's lessons. He understood better what Flamel had written. Now was not the time to ponder this however. It was time to see if Snape could really locate Rose. "I brought you her prayer beads. She's the only one who ever touched them before today, I would be very grateful if you could manage this spell thing without destroying them; they are very important to her…I think William would like to have them when he's old enough to understand."

"They will not be harmed, though some residue magic will linger on them for a few months." Severus said as he bent over the final item in the spell and pulled out his wand. "Once I begin, it will move very quickly to lead us along. If you intended to include anyone else in this exercise, I suggest you go collect them now before I cast."

"My adjutant will return any moment, the rest of the team is waiting for word to get moving." Edward said, still not completely comfortable with his new position, but willing to use it to keep his family and his country safe. As if summoned, Havoc appeared in the doorway carrying a tray of coffee, followed by Roy holding a bag of pastries.

"You didn't eat before you left, it is bound to be a long day." Roy said with a shrug as he passed out the food, he had even brought some for the wizard. "The team is downstairs, eating next to the cars so we can leave at a moment's notice."

"Well then," Snape said as he wiped his hands clean and pulled back out his wand, "I suppose it is time to begin."

Havoc disappeared to tell the others to get in the cars, while Ed and Roy watched Severus Snape cast the spell. Once again, Ed paid attention to the power Snape was using. It felt different than his son's. Yuery didn't leave anything behind when he used it, which is a large part of why Ed hadn't noticed it at first. Ed wanted to ask about this, but he wasn't sure he wanted to ask SNAPE about it. There would be time enough for research later.

The beads glowed softly for a moment before rising off of the table and moving toward the far wall of the room. Snape reached out to gently take them before turning to the others and gestured to leave. Ed noticed the beads tugging in his hand the entire trip downstairs.

Once they reached the cars, Snape took the front passenger seat of the first car, driven by Hawkeye, while Ed and Roy climbed in the back. "Just, turn when I say. We may have to leave the cars before we find her." Snape said quietly.

Headmaster's Office

5:00 am

Dumbledore was sitting at his desk, contemplating his next move. Snape had yet to make contact, which was not entirely unexpected given the mission. The other two spies had not made their weekly report either, which was more concerning. What had him up so early however, was the arrival of his phoenix, Fawkes.

Fawkes had brought Flamel's reply, and it was not what Dumbledore had been expecting. To begin with, it was not Nicolas who replied, but his wife. Dumbledore had nearly forgotten there was a wife, having only ever spoken to her once, several years ago.

Dearest Albus,

I am afraid to inform you that Nicolas is no longer available. I can answer many of the questions you may have, but not all of them, of course.

Nicolas was never keen to answer all of your questions either, as I recall. You have always been rather intrusive in your curiosity, however, since Nicolas felt you were safe enough to entrust a stone I suppose I will defer to that trust.

As to your request. I am informing you now, undeniably, it is impossible to send the aide of an alchemist. The only alchemist to leave Cselkcess in this century aside from Nicolas was Edward Elric, and he would be unlikely to do so again.

As far as your queries about the combined use of magic and alchemy. It is possible, given the correct circumstances or years of study, but unlikely. As far as I know, Nicolas was the only alchemist who was from a magical blood line, I could be wrong of course, he was not the most forthcoming with information.

Even if another were to exist, Amerstris is unlikely to harbor him or her. The country is not accommodating to magic users. Perhaps inquiring to the Emperor of Xing may lend different results. The new Emperor is unknown to me however, and I am not familiar with his temperament in regard to other continents. I do know that one of his brothers trained at Durmstrung , however rumor has it he is NOT an alchemist.

Keep the stone safe, there are those who would use it for ill intent. Should it become necessary, feel free to destroy it, Nicolas will not be returning for it, he has no need for such an item on the other side.

Mrs. Flamel.

The woman's writing was more cryptic than her husband's, Dumbledore mused, but then she had given him as much information as Nick ever gave him in a letter. What disturbed him, was she had implied more than once in the short note, that Nick was dead. Albus had always been left with the impression that Nick was immortal.

Decided, he pulled out a fresh parchment. He would ask her directly if his… if Nicolas was dead. He'd never known how to define the relationship exactly. Nick was part teacher, part friend, sometimes they seemed almost enemies, and sometimes more… He quickly wrote a single sentence ' Is Nicolas dead?' and stared at it for hours as the sun rose. He wasn't entirely certain he wanted the answer. He needed to know, but then he already knew. The way she worded things, before he could change his mind, he sent the letter off. The whole time hoping he was misreading her and Nick simply wanted nothing more to do with wizards. As soon as Fawkes was gone, he forced himself to return to other matters. No matter the answer, there was far more that needed his attention right now.

Central

Warehouse District

9:00 am

They had been led to the warehouses quickly, but whatever the magic did so far seemed to be slowing down, much to Ed's annoyance. Snape had insisted two blocks ago they get out of the cars and follow on foot. After a brief conversation that consisted of glares and hand gestures, they agreed, but left half the team behind as back up.

They reached warehouse five, which according to record was empty, and the beads grew brighter and turned a terrible shade of purple, before fading out and going limp. "This is it." Snape said sadly. "She's in here.. Colonel, you may want to stay out here."

"What, why?!" Ed demanded. He wasn't going to be left out this close to finding her, he had promised his son.

"She's. The color, it indicates that she is no longer alive. It is unlikely that this will be a pleasant sight." Snape replied.

"…When I was five years old, I returned home from playing to find my mother face down on the floor. A week later I held her hand as she died. Alone. When I was seven, I witnessed three men being executed in the fields behind my house for having the wrong hair and eye color. The same year, I hid my baby brother in a closet so bandits didn't find and kill him."

"Ed-" Roy tried to interrupt.

" At EIGHT, they blew up the train station. Dozens of people were killed." Ed said, ignoring his dad, "When I was fifteen I watched a man turn his daughter into a monster, the sweetest little girl I had ever met. She was in pain. She was suffering. And then she was murdered. I have seen, over and over again, the vile moments of humanity. I have seen more than my fair share of corpses. I am doing this, so I can look my son in the eye and tell him that I did everything I possibly could to avenge his mother's murder. I am not a child to be coddled. I have never been a child."

"Alright, Edward." Roy said with a sigh. He wanted nothing more than to spare his son what he suspected was going to be a terrible scene. Ed was right though, he had already seen more than his fair share, even before Roy drug him into this adult world that had no business taking a child.

Roy still insisted on Ed taking the rear. The coppery smell of blood hit him first, and he threw up an arm to halt the others as he looked around the room his other hand posed to snap. No one moved inside the building. It appeared empty aside from a lump in the center of the floor that, judging from the smell, was their target.

Hawkeye pushed in from of Mustang, Breda, Flaman, Heidrich, and Ross were right behind her. Ed was being held back by Snape. They cleared the room quickly and turned on the light. Ed frowned as he pushed Snape away and walked toward the center of the room. Breda reached for him, but was brushed aside. Roy didn't bother trying to stop the boy, instead following half a step behind.

Hawkeye approached as well, while ordering Heidrich and Ross to return to the cars and call for transport. Breda gagged at the cloying scent, and was avoiding the area. It was always harder when he knew the victim. He couldn't imagine how this must be for his bosses.

Ed kneeled next to the body, glad for once that he hadn't shaken the habit of wearing gloves, as he pulled back the tarp. He sat back with a gasp, as his Dad pulled him to his chest, forcing and Ed to look away. She was dead, had been dead for a while. Roy couldn't tell how long exactly, but she had been killed slowly.

She had been stabbed, beaten, and burned. Roy had known this by the smell before the tarp had been moved, but he hadn't expected how bad. He was going to have nightmares from this, let alone his son. He should have refused to let Ed in, had pulled rank both as his commander and as his father. Hawkeye shook a tissue from her pocket to replace the tarp without touching it and confusing the fingerprints that may be on it.

A heavy hand fell on Roy's shoulder and he nearly snapped before recognizing Falman. "Take him out of here sir. We have it now."

Roy nodded as he lifted his son with a grunt and carried him toward the door while muttering for him not to look back. Ed was pale, paler than Roy had ever seen him. Roy was worried about him, he was nearly catatonic, making no objection to being carried all the way back to the cars.

Roy's body knew the memory of carrying men nearly his size in the war, thankfully, because he wasn't relinquishing his son to anyone else, even with bigger men around them. This was his child. His responsibility. Roy already made a terrible mistake in letting him be involved, allowing him to come, he wasn't going to pass this off on someone else now.

He nodded to Havoc, who hurriedly opened the back door of the car he was leaning on. Havoc stubbed out his cigarette as Roy came closer, and leaned in to place his son on the back seat, before kneeling so he was looking directly into his son's face. Ed's eyes were dry. He was shaking, and even his lips were pale. He still clung to Roy's sleeve, as Roy brushed back his bangs. "Hey. Ed. Stay with me buddy."

"S-s-s-she was torn apart, Dad." Ed said quietly, and Havoc gasped. He looked to Mustang for confirmation that Ed had seen the body in that condition. Roy gave a small nod, unnoticed by his son. "They. They- and it was because of me! I brought her here to protect her, and they killed her because of me! I-"

"Enough Edward." Roy said before Ed could go any further. "It was not because of you. It was to restart a war. Did you see what was written on the walls? The floor? They did this to enrage us so we would talk Grumman into declaring war. It isn't going to work, because whoever did this, they are just framing the Ishbalans. Ishbalans didn't do this. But I think I may know who did. You are taking a leave of absence."

"I-"

"No. You are taking a leave, and you are going home to your sons, and you are leaving this to me and our teams. You are going to stop blaming yourself, because you are no more responsible for Rose's death than you were Hughes." Roy said, as he adjusted how he was kneeling to slide into the car next to his son.

"The thing, that we thought was Mom." Ed whispered. "It looked like Rose, only in one piece."

"When you get home, I want you to go to my study. In the bottom drawer is a bottle of bourbon. Pour yourself three fingers and drink it as fast as you can, then sit down and wait for me. I'll be home soon. The others are at Gracia's. I'm going to contact them and tell them to stay there." Roy said.

"If I may." Snape interrupted with a quiet voice. "I can offer him a dreamless draught."

"A what?" Roy asked, frowning at the wizard he had nearly forgotten was there.

"A dreamless draught. It puts the patient into a deep sleep without dreams. It's used for trauma." Snape explained, as he held up his small bag that he had brought with him. "I am afraid magic can not bring back the dead anymore than alchemy, but I can offer what little comfort magic allows."

Roy thought about it, calculating. The wizards already knew where they lived, that had been obvious. The rest of his family would be kept away the rest of the day and night, so it would be just Roy and Ed at the house. It sounded very similar to medications offered by the doctors after a particularly difficult battle. Roy frowned. "What are the side effects?"

"Bitter taste. Sometimes the users will remain dreamless for several days afterward. Sleep is near instant, and the user will be very difficult to rouse for roughly twelve hours." Snape listed.

"I will be fifteen minutes behind. Don't give him anything until I am there. Fuery, Havoc, you will remain posted on the house until the trade off in eight hours. Everyone else, back to the office. Armstrong is arriving now, I will see you at home, Ed. I'll be right behind you."

Roy then slid back out of the car and Snape slid inside, along with the guards, before they drove away. With a heavy sigh he returned his attention to Armstrong, leading the way back to the warehouse. This would take hours to process, but he was handing command of the field over to Alex. Hos son needed him more than the crime scene. He did explain that once again they had found an attempt to frame the Ishbalans for the crime.

Hogwarts

Headmaster's Office

7:00 pm

McGonagall knocked hesitantly on the door. Dumbledore had not been seen all day, which wasn't unusual, however, he hadn't arrived for dinner. A quick trip to the kitchens confirmed he hadn't ordered anything for dinner. He called for her to come in, and she closed the door behind her just a quietly as she had knocked.

"No, I am not alright, but I will be." Dumbledore said without looking up from a piece of parchment that appeared to have been balled up and smoothed out several times. "I learned today that an old friend has recently passed away."

"Who if I may ask?"

"it is unimportant. You never met him." Dumbledore, seemingly pulling himself together. "Was there something else you needed?"

"No sir, I was concerned when you skipped dinner."

"The elves will bring me something when I grow hungry. If you'll excuse me, I have a lot of work."

She left with a frown but without another word, she had seen the note, which had contained only the word 'yes' written on a note from Albus that asked if someone was dead. After the door closed, a single tear escaped his eye to trail down his nose and drip onto the page before he crumpled it one final time as he threw it into the lit fireplace.


	11. With the Help of Magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I shouldn't have let him come. I knew we would be finding a body. Why did I let him come?"
> 
> "You had no way of knowing that it would be that kind of scene Roy. It isn't your fault anymore than it is his."

With the Help of Magic

Mustang-Rockbell-Elric Residence

7:00pm

Edward was still deep asleep on Roy's bed. Roy had decided that the boy wasn't going to be alone tonight, not completely trusting that he would be without nightmares. Roy had just slipped out of the room to check on his team and find something to eat.

Riza was in the kitchen with Snape, who would be staying until Edward awoke in case of any side effects at Roy's insistence. Outside, the shift had changed and was now guarded by Breda and Falman. He sighed heavily, and sat next to Riza at the table, before folding his arms on the table and laying his head on his arms with a groan. "I shouldn't have let him come. I knew we would be finding a body. Why did I let him come?"

"You had no way of knowing that it would be that kind of scene Roy. It isn't your fault anymore than it is his." Riza said as she stood and scooped some soup out of the pot on the stove. "You are taking a leave sir. I already filed the paperwork and spoke to my grandfather."

"I can't. I need to help find the people who did this." Roy said as he sat up and looked into his soup without lifting the spoon.

"You need to keep your sons safe, and your grandsons. I am sending you all south I contacted Izumi Curtis an hour ago, she will expect you in two days, and is looking forward to meeting her newest grandson, though wishes it was under better circumstances."

"She met Will at Yu's birthday party?"

"But he wasn't yet being called her grandson, to the best of her knowledge. I pointed out the same thing." Riza said. "I will be joining you in three days. After I arrange the office work. Armstrong has completely taken over the investigation. All preliminary evidence suggests a conspiracy."

"And it would be better for me to remain away from the investigation because of personal involvement and past history with your suspects?" Roy said with a sigh before turning his attention to the wizard. "Ed didn't stir when I attempted to get him up to eat."

"I believe I explained he would not wake for several hours. He will be alright; I am monitoring him from here." Snape said before taking a sip of his tea. "After today's trauma I feel it is best to leave him. I can offer him several calming draughts to take with him tomorrow. They will not make him sleep but will allow him to process what he witnessed today without becoming overwhelmed. I myself used them for several months after I lost…someone very dear to me."

"Why are you offering so much help?" Roy asked, suspicious. He didn't feel Snape was involved in what happened to Rose, but it was very convenient that he arrived when he did.

"As I said, I read the papers. I felt you needed my services. Do not worry, I made an unbreakable vow not to reveal anything I've learned to the other wizards."

"You aren't coming with us tomorrow." Roy said, to be sure the man knew his welcome was limited to tonight.

"I must be going tomorrow; I have other obligations. I'm afraid I would have to decline had I been invited."

"Will you leave the ingredient lists and instructions to these medicines you offered my son?" Roy asked after a few minutes.

"Normally, I would decline. Brewed incorrectly they can be extremely dangerous. However, it is my understanding that most alchemists would be masters of potions, had they bothered to learn them. I will leave a few books as well; I know the Colonel has expressed interest in magic. I have a small collection of first- and second-year books in my luggage. After that you would have to write to request more."

"…There's been no exchange." Roy said, though he wasn't as rigid on the matter as his son, he was still an alchemist, he still believed in equivalent exchange.

"Prevent Ms. Rockbell from joining the ranks of dead mothers and we shall call it even." Snape said. "Too many children have lost their mothers."

Roy silently nodded, still not trusting the man, but liking him more than he had this morning. He seemed sincere enough in his motives that Roy was willing to accept limited help, based on what Ed had said about it before falling asleep. Apparently, the man has cast some sort of spell that made it nearly impossible to betray them. Ed was roughly forty percent comforted by this act but was taking it more as a sign of good faith than actual prevention. Ed wanted to read more about spells to see if it was possible to bind someone in such a way, as well as ways to help Yuery.

"Ms. Rockbell will be fine. She is capable in self-defense, and the family is not going to let her out of their sight anytime soon. We are nearly certain who it was that did this. It's a matter of proving it."

"Well, there is always truth potions. Should you wish to use one, I can retrieve it for you and return with in a week. "Snape said, he didn't truly understand himself why he felt compelled to continue to help these people. He certainly didn't want to form a long-term friendship with them, or to actually meet their children. He was relieved beyond measure to learn that Lily's baby had lived, but he didn't want to meet him. Perhaps he simply hopes that if he gives them enough aide, they'll be around long enough to ensure the boy wasn't another James, because he was now convinced, they will not allow the boy to become a bully.

"Okay." Roy said, figuring the worst that would happen is it didn't work…or the ones he assumed involved weren't. He would wait until Friday then to join his kids in the South. Meanwhile he needed Snape to bring it as soon as possible.

"If I leave tonight, I will be back no later than Thursday, if I run into trouble. Tomorrow afternoon at the earliest." Snape said.

"Then by all means, go. We will see you soon." Roy said.

Snape nodded, already plotting how to get into the castle and back out without anyone realizing he'd been there. It was easy enough; he knew all the routes. He just needed to get to an open flue network. There was no way he would consider connecting this fireplace, that would set off too many alarms and weaken their defenses. However, he could apparate to a pub in Creta and flue from there. It would take him only a couple of hours, eight at the most if anyone noticed him.

Hogshead

Hogsmeade  
Private room

4:00pm

Albus and Aberforth sat in silence as the elder drank his wine. Eventually, the younger sighed deeply before asking. "What do you want brother, this isn't Order business, or you would have already been on your way."

"I needed a place to feel Abe. Is that too much to ask?"

"It depends on what yer feelin I guess." Aberforth said with a shrug, unconcerned with whatever melodrama his brother had invented this time.

"I dear friend has died. I don't know when, or how, but I can't let on he's gone or too many things he set in motion would crumble." Albus said.

"Once again you find yourself the victim of your own ambition. I hope no one innocent died in the process this time." He said without bothering to conceal the contempt in his voice.

"I have nothing to do with it. I am merely holding onto some things for him until his letter said to release them. "Albus said with a sigh. "I am going to miss him, I believe, though I haven't seen him in person in years.

"One of your secret Exes I assume?"

"You could say that." Albus said as he poured more wine. "You never did care to hear about my personal life though."  
"If it'll get you outta my bar quicker, I'll let ya list every ex you eva had at this point." Aberforth said, speech growing worse with every glass of his own. Albus eyed him. It was likely his brother wouldn't remember this conversation, and even if he did, he wouldn't repeat it.

"When I was young, and he was not so young we met. It didn't last long but friendship remained. At least I hoped it did. I know there are many things he did not tell me, and there were many things I did not tell him. We met again, off and on through the years, it went the same way every time. Now he's gone."

"You were in love with this guy at some point?"

"I believe I was. It hardly matters now."

"You always were an idiot brother, and that pride of yours never stops getting you in trouble." Aberforth said gruffly. "I'm sorry your friend died, now get out of my bar so I can open to paying customers."

Albus sighed and set aside his glass before swaying to his feet. Aberforth watched for a moment before rolling his eyes and grabbing his elder brother's shoulder. "Come on. You can sleep it off upstairs. Can't have people talking about the Great Albus Dumbledore being drunk off his ass. People will blame me."

He le his brother up the stairs to plop him on the bed. "If you vomit on my covers, I swear I'll turn you into a newt. I won't turn you back this time either."

"Do you hate me Abe?" Albus muttered.

"I don't not hate you." Aberforth replied. "Go to sleep your drunk. You got a world to save through ruthless manipulation."

Hogwarts  
Snape slipped silently into the castle and down the stairs to his private quarters. The potion he needed was already brewed and waiting for him there. He managed to make it all the way there and most of the way back before anyone saw him. Minerva stopped him at the last moment before he was about to leave the castle. "Severus. We weren't expecting you yet."

"That would be because I am not back yet. I simply needed some supplies and chose to come and go as quickly as I could so that I may return to my true duties as quickly as possible." Severus said smoothly. "I should be home no later than the day after tomorrow."

"Very well, then you were never here. But you may want to use my fire instead of the pub's Albus just left for a pint."

Severus groaned but agreed before following her. This time he returned to the safehouse they established their last visit, allowing him to transport much faster. Within an hour he had completed the task.

Mustang-Rockbell-Elric Residence

Snape politely knocked on the door, which was opened by the woman…Hawkeye he believed. She raised an eyebrow and he shrugged before saying "I met even less traffic than I assumed."

"Well, come in then." Riza said. As she stepped back into the house. "I'll let General Mustang know you have returned."

Snape was still removing his boots when she disappeared, and he looked around curiously. He had been invited into the kitchen, but he had not seen anywhere else in the house and wasn't entirely certain it was allowed. He saw the frames on the mantel though and was drawn to them.

The first must have been taken shortly after Elric returned home with Harry, it showed Edward, looking a lot younger though it was less than two years ago, holding a tiny baby in an office chair as he stared down at the baby and fed him a bottle. The second photo, taken a few weeks later judging by the baby's size, showed Edward, Roy and the baby all sleeping on the floor together. Judging by the books scattered around neither of them had intended to fall asleep. Curiously, the next photo featured a clearly much younger Edward and someone in a very large suit of armor standing with Mustang and a few other soldiers Hawkeye among them.

There were several more of Edward and the armor, some just the two of them but three with others, one showed them with a shorter black-haired woman and a large black-haired man. Another showed them standing in front of a house with a tiny elderly woman and a young blonde girl. The third featured Harry again as well as a couple of Asian looking teenagers.  
Then the next set of photos showed a dark-haired girl and another baby, along with two white haired children. Then in the next photo, a very thin Alphonse as well as Edward and Harry appeared, as well as Roy and a different Asian girl. There was another featuring the addition of the blonde girl from the other picture as well as Hawkeye. The final photo showed Harry holding a newborn baby, which was not in any of the other photographs as far as he could tell.

He turned to leave and saw even more photographs on the shelves featuring different people, but Hawkeye was also glaring at it from the doorway. To save himself, he said the first thing he could think of "It's fascinating that muggle photographs are stationary. My father's old phots always were but my mothers were animated when you were close enough. I always wondered about Alchemist photos."

"I see. The General is waiting for you in the kitchen." Hawkeye said, seemingly at least somewhat believing him. She led him back to the kitchen before announcing. "I found him in the living room apparently trying to get family portraits to move."

"I see. Were you able to retrieve the truth stuff?" Roy said frowning unhappily at the uninvited intrusion.

"Of course." Snape said as he pulled out a vial full of clear liquid. "Three drops in any drink or food and the person in question will be compelled to answer any question honestly with in a few minutes. Use it sparingly, it takes a full month to brew."

"We should test it to see if it works before using it on anyone else Sir." Hawkeye said simply.

"How long does the effect last?" Roy said to Snape.

"About an hour." Snape replied.

"We'll test it on Snape first, then on one of us." Roy decided. Debating between the two choices. On one hand it would prefer to use it on himself, on the other he held more state secrets than her.

Snape agreed, and watched as they dropped three drops into a glass of water before handing it to him. They watched carefully as he drank. The most dangerous secrets he carried were bound by vows after all. He could reveal he knew who Harry was before arriving, and any number of embarrassing tidbits of his life, but overall, he wasn't worried.  
He felt the warm sensation that meant the potion was taking affect. Roy was watching the time on a silver pocket watch, after a full five minutes he snapped it closed and began. "What is your name?"

"Severus Prince Snape." Snape said.

"Where are you from?" Roy asked, this was one thing he knew the man had lied about, even if it had been by omission.

"I was born in Spinner's End, England. Grew up mostly there but spent my teenage years in Scotland." Snape said, seemingly unaware of how Roy stiffened.

"Why are you here?" Riza demanded, Roy still thinking.

"I came to make sure Harry was cared for and not mistreated. When I learned about his new family through the papers and that the girl had been kidnapped, I felt I needed to help. I had no intention of approaching any of you had he been cared for, and in fact had already left twice without contact."

"How do you know the baby?" Roy demanded, refusing to give the man the child's real name. His name was Yuery. Harry was the name of a child who legally no longer existed.

"I have never met him. His mother went into hiding a week before he was born, and I never saw her again alive. She was my best friend."

"Were you going to try to take him?" Roy growled ready to leap across the table at the man.

"No."  
"These vows you made; do they actually prevent you from betraying information?" Riza asked, while Roy glowered and started to pace.

"Yes. Even under truth serum."

"Have you been protected by these vows from our questions tonight?" Riza asked.

"No. None of the questions violated a vow."

"Why were you looking at the photos when I came in?"

"I wanted to see him. He looks just like James. Except his eyes. He has Lily's eyes. I hope being raised by Edward will take James out of him." Snape said and sounded near tears.

"Do you know Albus Dumbledore personally?" Roy asked, remembering Ed's story about England.

"Unfortunately." Snape growled. "I made the terrible mistake of asking for his help, and he failed to help me. "

Roy and Riza looked at each other, they couldn't think of any other questions, but were unwilling to test the drug with Snape in the room or send him out while he was still under the affect. Roy then turned to Snape with one final question. "Do you know who Killed Rose?"

"No. I wish I did so that I could drag them to the top tower of Azkaban and leave them to the Dementors for months before returning them to their fates."  
"What's a Dementor?" Riza asked.

"A foul creature, they feed off of your worst fears and memories. They leave you with nothing. Happiness will not return to you in their presence. They are used as punishment and guards for the wizard prison. Snape said, and both soldiers shuddered at the idea of it.

Snape laid his head on the table, and with in moments was snoring. Roy was pretty sure lying about sleeping feel under things the truth potion did not allow. With a sigh he lifted the mug of coffee the potion had been added to earlier and gulped it down before Hawkeye could stop him.

"I never want to hear you ask why Edward is so reckless again Roy. I mean it." Riza said in exasperation.

"I am a terrible example. Probably shouldn't be allowed to raise children but can't imagine my life without them." Roy said with a sigh. "We can't keep our promise Riza, I have to help my kids, and that means I can't allow myself to be punished for Ishbal."

"I know Roy, we've talked about this before."

"I am a coward."

"No, you are a parent." Riza said.

"I want to marry you, since I was like sixteen. I want to have more children with you, raise them in a better world than my boys got." Roy said. "But I want my boys to have that world too. I know Ed's getting married, probably before us since I haven't even properly asked you yet, but he's still a kid."

"I already said yes Roy." Riza said with a smile. "Now let's test this stuff."  
"Okay."

"When we met… why did you try to pretend I wasn't even there the first month." Riza had asked him this before but he had never answered. She had always wondered.

"Before I arrived, Master Hawkeye had said that the main reason he kept refusing students was because he didn't want his daughter involved with alchemy. I had to promise to leave you completely alone or be expelled. About three months after I arrived, he said I was 'a good kid' and we could play together in my free time, as long as I didn't try to teach you anything from my lessons… I never told him I already had."

"You risked all of it to be friends with me?"

"Of course. You were the first person I knew outside of my family who ever tried to be nice to me. How could I repay that with rudeness? I just wanted a friend." Roy said.

"Oh Roy." Riza said, before pulling him to his feet. "No more questions go sleep this stuff off, we know it works now."


	12. Retreat not Surrender

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I want you out of here for a few days, all of you. I have a fairly good idea who did this, but I want you all far from it. I talked to Izumi last night, she's expecting you this evening."
> 
> "Okay." Ed said quietly, worrying Roy who had expected a fight.

Retreat not Surrender 

Mustang-Rockbell-Elric Residence

6:00 am

Edward woke with his head resting on his father's chest, the increasingly familiar sound of Dad's heartbeat against his ear. For a moment he forgot how he had ended up here, before the events of the day before returned to him. He stiffened at the memory, before rushing to the bathroom to relieve his stomach of their contents.

He felt someone behind him as his hair was pulled back out of the way, and his Dad's hand rubbed his back. "Let it out son, don't fight it. You'll feel better for it." Roy said gently. He had woken as the boy jumped out of bed. At least Ed was mobile today, and hopefully coherent, because he had hoped to send them on their way before he enacted the interviews at noon.

Ed finally sat back and wordlessly Roy offered a glass of water, then led the boy back to the bedroom. "I want you out of here for a few days, all of you. I have a fairly good idea who did this, but I want you all far from it. I talked to Izumi last night, she's expecting you this evening."

"Okay." Ed said quietly, worrying Roy who had expected a fight. He had expected to have to offer the potion Snape had left to get Ed settled enough to agree. Ed must have seen the question in his eye because after a moment he continued. "I failed to keep Rose safe after I promised I would, but I can't and won't fail Winry, or Al, or most importantly my sons. I was already taken off the case and put on leave so if keeping them safe means visiting Teacher that's what I'm doing. If I had to take them all the way to Xing I'd do it."

"I will be a day behind you, at the most. I want to listen in to the interviews but I'm off the case too, so I won't be staying here. They decided I'm to close to it." Roy said and Ed nodded grateful that Dad was getting away from the city too.

"When do we leave?"

"Well everything was packed last night so all we are waiting for is the earliest train which should be around nine if I remember correctly, hold on I will go check and get you some breakfast." Roy stood to leave the room before turning back "Ed, I don't care about protocol. Do not wear your uniform on the train. In fact leave it here. Your watch is good enough, I will travel the same way."

"Teacher is going to kill me. This is the first she'll get me alone since I decided to stay in the military. I don't remember right now if I even actually told her, though she knows. It's been in all the papers." Ed said, suddenly concerned. "Do you think it's too late to go to Xing instead?"

"Yes." Roy said. "We can't actually leave the country, though we can go out of the city. It is still an open investigation, as is your chimera case. Armstrong assures me the two are not connected."

"Bullshit."

"I agree. At least one person is connected to both though overall it may not be." Roy sighed, I'll be right back, you can change while I'm gone I brought in your stuff last night to save time. Ed looked at the pile his dad had pointed to with a sigh. It looked just like what he had worn while on the run with Ling last winter so it would work well but that didn't mean he had to like it. It remined him too much of Greed and others they had lost. With a sigh he began changing anyway, because this was how he kept his sons safe.

Southbound Train

Private Compartment

11:00 am

Ed and Winry shared the left bench with Yuery and William, while Mei and Al shared the right bench. Al had pulled down the wall mounted table and was playing "Yuery Wins!" with Yuery while Winry and Mei discussed Winry's wedding plans and Ed napped with William in his arms.

They had all been grateful to learn Roy had booked them a private compartment, and that before them and behind them were members of the Team, who would head back to the city after getting them to Teacher's.

Yuery had just picked up the last (ten) cards and announced his win, when Breda slipped into the compartment. "Grumman ordered this car express so we are only making one stop before South City, to drop you guys off."

"Oh we're going to be early then." Winry said.

"Mrs Curtis was already informed. Mrs Hughes and the girls are on the Express to West City. There's a new Express to North City and East City too. All four left the station at the same time and all of the passenger manifests mysteriously vanished into the Fuhrer's office." Breda said as they all nodded, and Breda turned to leave. "Oh and Al? Yuery wins when he gets the Ace of Hearts, it has nothing to do with the rest of the deck. I played this with him all last week. "

Al groaned. Yuery would be just like his dad when it came to cards already. Hopefully William wouldn't be as cruel. How did Breda figure out the rules when Al had been playing for months anyway? Mei patted his arm absently, as Yuery 'shuffled' the cards by mixing them around with his tiny hands and said "Again, Al?"

"Let's try a different game? How about GoFish?" Al asked.

Yuery frowned before nodding. "Daddy play Go Fish."

"Daddy's sleeping Yu." Al said

"No, he's saying Daddy taught him Alphonse." Mei said before returning her attention to Winry.

Al shuffled and dealt the card, confidant that Ed had then taught the boy the rules. Al was right, but ten minutes later Yuery won the game. "How?! I swear he cheats like Brother!"

"Al. He's two." Winry said before gathering up the card, "Here Yu it's time for a snack. I think Uncle might need a nap."

Al grumbled as Winry pulled a few sandwiches out of her basket and Ed snorted awake. "Whats that?" Ed muttered looking around.

"Lunch Ed." Winry said and he looked down at the baby on his chest.

"Change first." Ed said with a frown. "He soaked through. Would someone toss me a dry shirt? And a diaper.

Ed didn't bother heading to the bathroom, instead changing his shirt quickly as well as the baby before returning the sleeping child to his sling. William, woke as they settled in to eat lunch, and announced his return to the waking world by snaking out a hand and stealing a piece of Ed's sandwich. "I think he may be hungry. "Ed said with a smile as Winry dug through the basket for a jar of baby food and the others laughed, Yuery joining the laughter a moment later. "How long do we have left?"

"About an hour." Al said. "We are on the express, only one stop before South City. Ours."

Curtis Butchers

1:00 pm

Ed carried William in the sling and Yuery on his left hip, while Al, Winry, and Mei each carried a bag, Ed also carried a suitcase and the diaper bag. Mason announced their arrival and they were greeted by Teacher in the front yard. She had a scowl on her face and her arms crossed over her chest as she stormed toward them. Ed backed up slowly while saying "Now Teacher I know you're disappointed in me but you have to let me put the boys inside first please-"

He was cut off by the shock of her throwing her arms around him and hugging him and the boys to her. "I heard, and I'm sorry Ed. Rose seemed like a nice girl." Ed stood frozen for a moment before leaning into her hug, and Al, Winry, and Mei joined them. "I know it wasn't…that you weren't in love with her, but she was your son's mother, and no one is going to deny your right to mourn while you're here."

"She died because she was my friend." Ed said. "Because I invited her into my home to keep her safe. I failed Teacher."

"Edward, she died because terrible people decided to kill her to make you question yourself. It was not your fault, and I'm sure both your brother and Ms. Rockbell have already told you that…probably that General too, and if he hasn't I'll kick his ass when I see him next." Izumi said fiercely as she hugged him tighter.

"Everyone keeps saying it wasn't my fault, but the fact remains that it has been one tragedy after another since I steamrolled into her life." Ed said with a sniff. "I'm a bad luck charm, Teacher."

"Alright, that's enough." Izumi said in return as she took William from him and passed him to Mei, then took Yuery and handed him to Winry. "Ladies, Al please go ahead and head inside. I need to know if being chained to a desk undid all of Edward's training."

Ed panicked, trying to talk her into waiting until later, but she ignored him as she shooed the others inside. Then she turned back to him. "Now, Alphonse is still recovering so you'll have to fight for you both, and maybe by the time I'm done knocking you around the yard it'll knock some sense into you Colonel Elric."

"Umm…I know you're mad about the whole staying in the military thing but-" Ed began as he backed away far enough to shed his coat. There was no getting out of this, he had managed to put off this fight at the time she learned he had stayed by needing to allow his shoulder to heal, but he had been cleared now and she would know he'd healed.

"Shut up Brat. We already covered your stupidity over the military. This is about you blaming yourself for things you can't control… though we need to talk about these kids you keep having too!" Izumi said.

"Teacher, you know the story there with both of them!" Ed said as Teacher began circling him and he fell into a defensive stance.

"You're sixteen years old with two children."

"Sixteen and a half." Ed said, knowing this would not help and would probably make her hit him harder for cheek. He couldn't help it, heckling opponents was one of his preferred fighting styles.

"You're an idiot. You tied yourself to the military, raising a couple of kids by yourself and let your skills get rusty."

"Hey! I'm helping to fix the military, am a damn good father, and practice twice a day now that I have the doctor's clearance."

Izumi had him flat on his back before he could argue further. He groaned and stood up, before she lunged again. He dodged and threw a punch and kick back, managing to clip her shoulder. She grunted in response before lunging again. Three times she got him down, but he landed a total of ten hits. After she helped him up one last time before declaring his skill acceptable but in need of work. She then led the way inside to send him to eat and shower.

Central Headquarters

General Roy Mustang's Office

1:00 pm

Mustang and Hawkeye debated through the morning on who was likely to have the most answers for them. In the end, Mustang decided to go with Archer. He seemed connected to both the personal attacks on Mustang's family and Ed's case, because though he had been quick to insist the two were unrelated they both knew it was unlikely they were completely unconnected.

Surprisingly, Archer arrived on time with no complaint to Mustang's summons. Mustang invited Archer to sit and offered him a coffee, which Hawkeye left to retrieve as Mustang joined Archer on the second couch, and Fuery began secretly recording from the supply closet. Hawkeye returned with the coffee, and handed them out before excusing herself again.

Mustang watched Archer leering at her as she went and cleared his throat. Archer drank some of the coffee to cover for himself as Mustang began. "It is my understanding that you have not been officially reassigned to Central?"

"No sir. General Hakuro asked that I oversee a few of his projects before he arrives next month." Archer said, seemingly unaware that he was saying more than absolutely necessary.

"I was unaware Hakuro intended to visit next month." Mustang said smoothly.

"He won't be visiting. After Haralson and Hatch took out Elric's side woman it is unlikely he will remain in service, and without him and Hawkeye, who they are taking on her way home tonight, you will crumble like paper. Grumman will have no choice but to call in Hakuro." Archer said smugly, before frowning as he noticed that he was talking far more than he should.

"What is the connection to the chimera?"

"Oh that was brilliant. I informed the others that Elric has a weakness for chimera, after that it wasn't hard to collect a handful of unwanted orphans and make sure the right information 'leaked' into the files he was reviewing." Archer said smugly. " After that, Haralson came in to shake you up, and the pair of you were so distracted by searching for the girl that Hakuro was able to plant his people in Grumman's office without you noticing, and he'll be dead by the end of the year. The only other General is Armstrong, we all know she likes her ice palace so no one will challenge Hakuro's bid."

"What do you get out of this?"

"I get to be Lt. Fuhrer and I finally get back at you and your bastard son for everything you've put us through with your weird magic. Haralson agrees. It's a damn shame we banned magic but someone managed to trick Bradley into okaying alchemy."

" The knowledge that wizards exist is banned to those below the rank of General. How did you learn if them?" Roy asked, distracted by concern for his grandson. If anyone was looking for signs of magic it would cause trouble.

"My family was afflicted with such a foul creature. It was removed when I was eight but we suffered it's presence for nearly two years before. It nearly drove my poor mother mad, blaming herself. The worst part is pretended to be perfectly normal for the first year or so and mother bonded with it. " He said with distain.

" I see." Roy said, disgusted with the way he was talking about a baby.

" They came to remove it and ordered father to inform everyone that it had died of fever. Bradley himself assured mother it was not her fault. These creatures can be born to anyone." he continued. " It would start fires, knock things over, reshape rooms. Just to torment us. I was glad to be rid of it. It really is to bad Bradley never saw that you alchemist are just as bad. Yet that's what ended him isn't it?"

"Thank you for your time Archer, I believe you will find your accommodations…an improvement from the Southern Command's." Mustang said as he stood. Colonel Armstrong and two MPs entered the room, along with Hawkeye and Fuhrer Grumman himself. Archer was arrested rather easily, likely thanks to the potion Snape had given Mustang to use. " I want a special guard on both Hawkeye and the Fuhrer starting now. Haralson and Hakuro will be in custody by nightfall."

"Very good Roy, couldn't have done better myself." Grumman said with a chuckle. He was then led from the room to arrange his safety. As he left, he shot over his shoulder. " Now marry my granddaughter already!"

Fuhrer Grumman's Office

Private Meeting

10:00pm

Arrangements had been made to keep Grumman under guard until Hakuro's faction had all been hunted down. Mustang had surrendered the tape made by Fuery and Grumman had played it over the line for General Armstrong as means of explaining the removal of one of the three current Generals.

Armstrong intended to catch the next train south to aide in the current situation, but practically ordered Mustang to remove himself from the city since he was so personally involved. Grumman agreed, ordering Roy and Riza from the city. When this came to a head and leaked to the public, the last thing they wanted was for anything to be even remotely suspect for Mustang. He had managed to politically land on his feet following the Coup, but he couldn't afford another scandal this quickly, especially in light of his move East in a few months.

Grumman's personal staff was currently suspect, so Mustang's personal staff was now in charge of the Fuhrer's safety until the Brigg's guards arrived in the morning. Mustang and Hawkeye would be on the midnight train to South City. Grumman ordered Mustang directly to take her out of the city. It had been decided as well that Rose was to be buried in the morning, but her funeral would be held when the Elric's returned.

The one piece of information Mustang really didn't want to share with Ed was the enemy's assumption about his relationship with Rose. Ed was going to blame himself. The only chance of convincing Ed it wasn't his fault went out the window there. The worst part was Roy had briefly considered not telling him… he had promised to not withhold information unless it was a risk to security from now on when Ed agreed to stay. Not even six months later, and here Roy was considering LYING to his son to spare his feelings. He probably would have if not for the tape. The contents of that tape were bound to get back to Ed at some point, so it would be better to hear it from Roy first.

Roy sincerely hoped Izumi and Riza, and Winry and Pinako would help bounce Ed back from this because right now… Roy was very worried. Ed wasn't one to ever run away from anything. He still carried the same watch he'd gotten and engraved at twelve! The promise inside fulfilled but not forgotten. Roy still feared this might break his son. Not for the first time, Roy wondered if he had done the right thing when he asked Ed to stay.

Riza, ever the mindreader, nudged him as he stared down into his twelfth cup of coffee. "You are no more to blame for what had happened than Edward. Hakuro and his men chose to target you and your son as a distraction. He chose this, not you. You have done nothing but keep the boys safe for as long as you have known them, and don't deny it. Remember I'm the one who knows what lengths you went to to keep an eye on them when they were out of your reach through the years."

"I drug an injured twelve-year-old child into the world of Lies and guns and we both know it." Mustang said. "No amount of ' It turned out for the best' will erase that I got them involved to begin with. I love my sons, and wouldn't trade being their father for anything, but I still used him."

"Are you absolutely sure Ed isn't your biological child because the two of you sound exactly the same." Havoc said from the other side of him. "I swear I hear Ed talking about Yuery and Al and William like this all the time."

"Edward is technically your commanding officer. Don't let anyone refer to him so casually, especially as his adjutant." Riza said, but Roy was still glaring at him for making sense. "Sir, I believe you have already packed for the trip, therefore, as soon as I can collect my things we can go."

Roy nodded and Havoc followed them out, before he asked "Wait what about your pets?"

"I left them with Breda." Roy said so drily Jean almost believed him. They had reached the car and climbed inside before Havoc asked again. "I have pet carriers and we will be in a private car. They're coming with us. I have no idea how long we will be gone."

"Where are they now?'

"At my apartment." Riza said. "It is the reason I insisted we need to collect my things. I had intended to mind them for a few days… plans change.

Hogwarts

Headmaster's Office

Late Evening

Snape had returned to the castle hours ago, and was surprised with how long it took before he was summoned. It did give him time to work out what he could say that would not violate the oath or tip Dumbledore off to having taken an oath. He assumed if Dumbledore knew, then Snape would not be allowed to return, or perhaps continue teaching at the school.

Surprisingly to him, he found he rather enjoyed teaching. Even if the majority of the students they gave him were completely useless in potions. He could teach the syllabus this year, perhaps next year, then there would be changes. These potions were dangerous in the wrong hands, which meant the student body at large.

He was thinking about the changes he would like to make when he arrived at Dumbledore's office and was invited in. He froze for a moment upon seeing the man. Dumbledore looked like he had aged a decade in the short time Snape had been gone. His robes were rumpled, and hair tangled. His eyes were red rimmed and the smell of fire whiskey lingered in the air.

"Are you drunk?" Snape asked bluntly.

"I am not sober." Dumbledore replied without bothering to look up properly. "You'll have to excuse me. I recently learned of the death of a dear friend."

"I see." Snape said as he finished walking into the office and shut the door. He pulled out his wand and a few flicks later had vanished Dumbledore's drink, cleaned the office, and straitened his clothes. Snape then called for a house elf to retrieve a potion from his office. "I understand Albus, probably more than most of the teachers here. Which is the problem. Should you allow the others to see you like this they would begin to lose faith in you."

"Why should they have faith in me to begin with?" Dumbledore stated bluntly. "I trick them into working with me for the greater good, but let them down, let you down, allowed her to die by my own arrogance and negligence…an innocent man rots in Azkaban, his remaining friend turned against him. I do nothing though I could prove he is blameless. I can't help him of course, because I can't reveal the truth or Death Eaters will be after the child again and in search of their leader."

"Your tongue is entirely too loose with whiskey. See that you avoid it from now on."

"His wife hates me, I think." Dumbledore said. "I think I may hate her too."

With that, Snape shoves the potion in his hand and tells him to sleep it off, not bothering to hide his disgust. This man, who was supposed to save them all was nothing but a drunk failure. He was still a symbol to the people, so Snape would have to do his best to at least sober the man up.


	13. In This Time of Mourning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grumman calmly said, "For the crimes of High treason, murder, attempted murder, abduction, attempted abduction, and human experimentation you have been sentenced to death. Your sentence is to be carried out immediately by firing squad and witnessed by open invitation."
> 
> "You can't do this!" Haralson attempted one last time.
> 
> "By order of the Fuhrer." Grumman finished as if he hadn't been interrupted. No one protested.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning chapter contains executions by firing squad
> 
> Author note: There will not be an update on the 25th. The next update will be the 27th.

In This Time of Mourning

Dublith

Curtis Butchers

Early Morning

Roy and Riza walked from the train station, each carrying a suitcase, and holding a leash, Riza was also carrying a full pet carrier and Roy two empty ones. The animals had handled the trip rather well, though they were ready for more freedom.

Roy had not bothered to call last night before leaving and was now arriving several hours early with extra guests. He probably should have called, he realized. There was nothing he could do about it not though, he was already here. With a heavy sigh born of frustration and exhaustion he wondered if the Curtis Household was awake yet.

They were still about a half a block away when they heard the sound of a fight and the heavy grunt that could only be Edward. Roy sped up, picking Franklin up under his arm, in his rush to get to his son. Riza and Hayete right beside him. He reached a fenced yard beside the Butchers just as Ed picked himself up off the ground and said, "See Teacher? I promise I've been keeping up on my lessons."

"I suppose you're passible, but perhaps I should test your Father's skills? If he is who your practicing with it would be a shame if he was substandard." Izumi said, having seen the others arrive though Ed hadn't since he was facing her still. "What do you say General? Care to test your skills?"

Ed whipped around to see Roy, Riza and the pets standing there. He jumped over the fence to throw his arms around Roy. "We weren't expecting you yet, is everything alright?"

"We shouldn't speak in the street with so many ears, but yes everyone is fine." Roy replied as Ed took some of the luggage to make it easier to put the dog back down. Izumi joined them a moment later and wordlessly took some of the luggage as well.

Once they entered the house, Izumi excused herself and disappeared into the kitchen to let Ed take the guests to their room and find out what all was happening. Ed led them upstairs, before saying, "Um there isn't a lot of spare room. I said it would be fine for Dad to share with me and Al, and the boys… I think we're going to have to put Ms. Riza in with Winry and Mei."

"That's fine, it's just Riza when we're at home, or here in this case Ed." Riza said with a smile. Ed nodded. It was true, if she was to be his stepmother, he at least hand to get used to calling her Riza. Ed then led them both into his room for now, since everyone else was downstairs waiting on breakfast. "You're right across the hall Riza, I'll ask Mason to bring up another bed later. Dad, Al offered to take the camp cot if you would be more comfortable in the bed, though keep in mind, Will has been sleeping with me and Yu has been sleeping with Al. I'd keep them both but the bed isn't big enough."

"That's fine, we'll work in out later." Roy said as he sat on one of the two beds and unhooked the lead on Franklin. He then opened the cat carrier and Cobalt jump onto the campbed and claimed the pillow. "I think the cat decided for us."

"Possibly. Now, what is happening." Ed said while Riza unleashed Black Hayete.

"The heads of the conspiracy are already in custody. Investigations is sweeping up the remainder." Roy said with a sigh. "You were right in a way, the Chimera Project was born simply to get your attention, it was planted so you would find it right away."

"Son of a Bitch." Ed fumed. "They hurt a bunch of innocent kids as bait? Who are these people?"

"General Hakuro led the movement with Colonels Archer and Haralson" Roy said. He saw the look Riza was giving him and knew he was going to have to tell Ed everything right away. " They intended to take both of us temporarily out of commission and then Grumman would have an accident or heart attack, with Hakuro the only available General he would then be name Fuhrer."

"Then you have to go back, he could still somehow pull it off!" Ed said, hating to send his father away so quickly, but they needed to keep Grumman and the country safe.

"I have the confession on tape. Grumman is also under guard from our teams only, and Armstrong should be arriving in the city…in the next couple of hours. Certainly before I could return." Roy said, and Ed sat back down. "The plan was to take out Hawkeye next, to weaken both mine and Grumman's resolve… I hate to tell you this. I wish I didn't have to, but they targeted Rose the same way. They assumed she was your lover and used her to get rid of you and it worked."

"No it didn't. I'm not going back yet, but I will be back. If what it takes to avenge Rose is pushing you all the way to the top in the next year, that's what I'm doing, because they will not win." Ed said, at the moment his anger pushing aside the guilt already welling deep in his chest. "What they did to her…it was unforgivable."

"It was intentional Ed." Riza said quietly. "After Promised Day enough of the wrong people pieced together what Al was and what that meant. They had no idea who you tried to bring back, but Haralson has seen the result of an attempt. He recreated it and left it for you to find. He hoped to push you over the edge so Roy would be distracted keeping you and the boys safe and they could make their next move."

"What is going to happen to them now?" Ed asked, already knowing the answer just like with the chimera. There was only one punishment for this.

"Haralson and Archer face the firing squad at dawn today, so an hour ago. Hakuro has been generously granted an extra day to say good bye to his children if they wish to come, and to get the list of others involved out of him." Roy said grimly. "None of that is your concern right now Ed. Right now I need you to worry about taking care of yourself."

"The hell it has nothing to do with me? They made it about me." Ed steamed. "They targeted my son's mother, my father, my stepmother, my grandfather. Next would be my brother and my sons. It has everything to do with me and I want to know everything you know Dad."

"I have given you everything I know at this time Ed." Roy said.

"Okay. Okay. Well then." Ed said, and he deflated, crumbling to the bed with a heart wrenching wail. Roy was at his side in an instant, wrapping him in a hug as Riza led the animals out to give them privacy. "I knew it! I knew. She died for me. I killed her, just like Nina, Hughes, Greed, Mom. I didn't keep them safe like I promised and they died!"

"Shh. Shh. Edward. You didn't hurt anyone. You help people wherever you go." Roy soothed as he held his sobbing son. "You were just a child, are just a child no matter how many pins are on your uniform. This was beyond your control."

"Why can't you just hate me? I got Hughes killed, I let Nina die, I trapped my little brother in an unfeeling shell for years. YEARS. I ruin everything I touch."

"You freed at least a dozen towns from tyranny, you took care of your brother every single day since your mother died. You had no way of knowing what was about to happen to Nina. They did this Ed, not you."

Roy had known this would be bad, that it may even knock the boy back toward that terrible day in the rain when Roy received the call about the Tucker girl. This was worse than that. This was tilting dangerously close to the boy Roy found in a wheelchair all those years ago. He would get Ed through this, somehow, he would get the boy back, because if he had been able to reignite the fire in a stranger with massive trauma, surely he could his son.

At some point they had laid down, Ed now laying with his head on Roy's chest and body smashed against the wall. The hitch in his breath had smoothed into a pattern Roy knew to be sleep. Roy held the boy all the tighter and drifted off himself.

Central Command

8:00 am

Parade Grounds

Grumman had insisted on being present for the executions. Likewise, he had insisted they be public. If he intended to start a new era, it had to be done with transparency, at least to this extent. This had pushed it back a scant two hours, which had done nothing but cause anxiety for the prisoners, who it seemed finally understood that no one was going to get them out of this.

The one person in the entirety of the military who may have protested the idea on principle they had removed from the city by murdering his loved one, and threatening the others. It wasn't supposed to go like this, they all agreed. Archer was counting himself lucky at the moment that they had been held in separate calls at least, because he feared the others would have killed him before the state had the chance, or at least beaten him until he wished he was dead.

He still didn't understand completely what had happened and could only assume he had been drugged, not that this knowledge did him any good, either as a way to stop this or to explain to the others, because drugged or not, he had said far too much and ruined everything.

A squad of MPs, all loyal to Armstrong, arrived to lead him to his fate, and Archer didn't fight them. There was no way out of this, no turning back or escaping. It was over. He was just glad that he had managed to shake that little bastard to his core. They tied him to a pole in front of a hastily raised wall and offered him a blindfold. He refused. He intended to look into the eyes of the gunmen, let him haunt their nightmares.

Grumman appeared after both were secured, surrounded by guards and looking far grimmer than anyone had seen from him in years. Haralson was still proclaiming his innocence which was falling on deaf ears, they had the proof, they knew what he had done.

The line of gunmen appeared, and the audience grew silent. Grumman calmly said, "For the crimes of High treason, murder, attempted murder, abduction, attempted abduction, and human experimentation you have been sentenced to death. Your sentence is to be carried out immediately by firing squad and witnessed by open invitation."

"You can't do this!" Haralson attempted one last time.

"By order of the Fuhrer." Grumman finished as if he hadn't been interrupted. No one protested.

Silence fell on the crowd of soldiers and civilians who had appeared. The late evening papers had been almost completely dedicated to the chimera research ring painting Edward Elric as a hero, and the subsequent kidnapping and murder of the young woman who was the mother of his younger son in retaliation. These men had no support from a crowd that considered Edward to be their greatest hero.

The preselected ten men stood in a line and fired at the same time. Only half of them had live rounds, and none of them knew if they had live ammunition or blanks. This was done to prevent anyone from feeling guilty later, or celebrating it depending on the person. With in moments it was over, and Dr. Knox, who had volunteered upon hearing who was being executed, came to confirm they were both dead.

Across the quad, with a perfect view from the room he was being interviewed in, the former General watched his allies fall. Colonel Armstrong had done this on purpose, on his sister's orders. She insisted it would be the easiest way to break the man's resolve, and they needed the rest of the names. Whatever means Mustang had used to get the original confession was a mystery that he had not shared with anyone else. Therefore they were forced to use different tactics.

"Mr. Hakuro, your wife and children are waiting just down the hall to see you. Do not force them to wait until your own execution to say good bye." Armstrong said quietly, there was no sparkle to his normally exuberant air. Just grim determination.

"You would allow two young children to grow up without their father? What honor is there left in your line?" Hakuro said in an attempt to disrupt Armstrong who was known for his near constant rambles about his legacy.

"What honor was there in the torture and murder of a young mother?"

"I know Edward Elric isn't the father of that child." Hakuro said. "He'll be an orphan by the end of the day."

"ENOUGH!" Armstrong demanded. "I will not have you sowing doubts into that boy. Give us the names and you can say your goodbyes to your family, or remain silent and we will find them all anyway."

"I already said my good-byes when they dragged me from my home."

"Very well." Armstrong turned to leave the room. He would send the family away, and recommend she not attend the execution this afternoon, or at least not bring her children. The man was a monster, but his children should not witness his death.

Curtis House

Late Afternoon

The quality of the sunlight when Roy next awoke said that several hours had passed. He could only assume that Riza had filled the others in at least to some extent because no one had come to check on them in that time.

The executions, all three, should be done by now. He had intended to listen to them over the radio, but it was probably for the best that they hadn't with the way the kids were all feeling. It was personal for them, but that didn't mean hearing the announcements would have been easy on them.

What had woken him was a combination of a full bladder and a numb arm. With a small groan he tried to slip out from under the sleeping boy without waking him, and failed miserably. Ed jolted awake, looking around frantically as soon as Roy stood from the bed. "The boys are downstairs with Winry and Alphonse." Roy said, guessing at what Ed was looking for.

Ed slumoed in relief before blinking slowly. "What time is it?"

"I'm not sure, we fell asleep." Roy said as he shook his hand to return feeling to it.

"Oh. So it's over by now?" Ed asked.

"Yes, I am going to call Armstrong when I return from the restroom to find out what they got out of Hakuro."

"Okay, the phone in Izumi's office is secure. Al checked this morning. Fuery taught him how last year." Ed replied.

A few minutes later Roy found the office, and was unsurprised to find that Ed was waiting in there already. Roy tried to talk him into leaving, but Ed just shook his head. He needed to know. Roy called and waited for Armstrong to answer after giving the correct passcodes.

"Ah General Mustang. It is good to hear you arrived safely." Armstrong opened with loudly.

"Hello Armstrong, yes the trip was uneventful. Unlike your day, I assume."

"Hakuro refused to give us any information that we requested, even with the promise of seeing his family to say his fairwells. He did attempt to start a rumor in his final hours, that Edward is not the father of young William. He implied that he himself was."

"Forget about it Amrstrong. It was simply another attempt to discredit and undermine Fullmetal and by extension myself."

"As I assumed sir, however I am uncertain if he had this conversation with anyone other than myself. I kept him in seclusion following his interview, but he had been in a holding cell last night."

"No one is going to listen to a condemned man's ramblings about another condemned man, if he had even tried to spread this last night. He may very well have come up with it during the interview to distract you."

"I am afraid it worked to some extent. I was agitated at the man and left the interview for a time. I did however allow my sister in to speak with him briefly. He said nothing to her at all, aside from implying that she had slept with both you and Grumman to keep her post. He was slightly more bruised than strictly necessary when he appeared before the firing squad."

"Understandable. Have you any other leads on who may still be involved?"

"His wife brought us all the paperwork she could find in his home office, and gave us permission to search the rest of the house. She read the evening paper. She was disturbed."

"Thank you Armstrong, please keep us informed as things develop." Roy said before hanging up the phone.

He turned to Ed, who had been listening into the conversation. "I suppose we no longer need to search for the ones we needed to arrest for war crimes." Roy said.

"Don't worry Dad. It doesn't matter to me. It's no different than Yuery as far as I'm concerned. I am not going to have an issue with that…. And Winry and Rose and I already agreed that William will be raised with the official story and not told the other part." Ed said with a frown. "Yuery is slightly different, in time I will tell him, but his parents were good people who died protecting him. Rose and them. It doesn't change that I am their Dad and now Winry is their mom. Now lets go find my boys and let the others know at least this part is over."

They went in search of the others, they found the babies in the kitchen with Mason, who looked every bit as out of his element as the last time he had been left in charge of Yuery. He also had William sitting in a milk crate on the counter while he stirred something on the stove and Yuery was sitting at the table.

"Why do you keep sticking my children in crates?!" Edward demanded as he retrieved the baby.

"I needed both hands!" Mason defended, though that was not strictly true. Babies made him nervous.

"Use the sling! It's right there at the table!" Ed said as Roy walked over to the table to check on Yuery. Izumi and Riza reentered the room from the garden as Roy reached for the toddler and Ed continued to yell about the sling.

Why is my grandson tied to a chair?" Roy asked calmly as he untied Yuery. Silence descended as everyone turned to Mason.

"He wouldn't sit still." Mason said, as Izumi stormed over to him and grabbed him by the ear. Before anyone else could react she had dragged him out of the room .

"I would leave them with Havoc before I left them with Mason again." Edward said, as he hugged both boys to him. "Don't worry guys, he won't bother you again."

"Where is everyone?" Roy asked Riza.

"Sig took Al and Mei to the Butchers to help him out. Winry wasn't feeling well, headache, so she's lying down. Izumi and I just went next door to get something, Mason only had to watch them for five minutes."

"Last time I asked him to watch Yuery because Al had been kidnapped, when I got back he had stuck Yuery in a crate behind the counter and just kept filling orders. He didn't even bother to change his diaper the whole time I was gone."

"There…is a lot to process in that statement." Roy said. "When was this?"

"Last year? It was right after I got out of the hospital when Lab 5 collapsed." Ed said. "I had gone down to turn in my annual paperwork in South City, when I got back Al had been kidnapped. Izumi knew something was wrong because Al left the broom out."

"Okay, and he left the baby in a crate? Around knives and animal parts and any number of possible hazards? Who took Al." Roy asked, still confused.

"Greed, the first one. He wanted to know about blood seals. I already beat Mason up for endangering my son, so did Izumi, but I think the lesson didn't stick. I think he might need to meet Winry's wrench."


	14. It Isn't a Scar, Yet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "This will scar. It's not a scar yet, it is still a wound. If you insist on picking at it by ignoring the pain and drowning it in whiskey it will not scar. It will fester and eat at you until there is nothing left. Let it become a scar Albus. There is no way to bring him back, whoever he was, but you can move on. Find something to fight for and hold onto the idea of it until you have healed, and then keep holding onto it because otherwise you are failing their memory."

It Isn't a Scar, Yet

Curtis Butchers

Three Days Later

Noon

Yuery and William were sitting in highchairs, with Winry on one side of them and Edward on the other side at the small kitchen table, while everyone else sat at the larger dining room table eating lunch. "I feel like there could be a 'kids table' complaint here, but they are just trying to give us time to ourselves." Winry said. Ed's face turned red and she fully expected a rant, but he calmed a moment later without saying anything.

"I think… maybe…I think you should take some time. Decide if being a part of my mess, being a possible target in the future is something you're okay with." Ed said quietly as he spooned potatoes into William's mouth and Yuery smeared some into his own hair.

"Are you breaking up with me Edward?" Winry asked, forcibly holding back tears.

"No. I'm not strong enough or brave enough to. I need you to be part of my life, but it has to be on your terms. You have to take some time, step back, and then decide. I asked you on impulse, and almost from the moment I did everything has been absolute disaster! I got Rose killed Winry, just by doing my job! A job I can't just walk away from no matter how hard I try. I'm terrified I'm going to get you killed too."

"I'm not going to die on you Ed." Winry said quietly. "I already survived more than most civilians and will keep doing so."

"That's my point!" Ed yelled angrily "Look at everything I have already put you through and we weren't even a couple, as soon as word gets out…word already got out. I put it out there. I might as well have killed her myself and I painted a major target on you by buying that ring. My children… you…Al. All I ever do is throw you into danger."

"Daddy, no." Yuery said seriously from his chair. "Daddy, don't cry, is okay."

"Thank you, Buddy." Ed said with a sniff and rubbed his son's hair. "Winry, I want nothing more than to walk out on this conversation but- "

"We'll talk later Ed." Winry said will a sniffled of her own. "Come on Yuery, let's get you washed up." Winry picked up the boy and walked out of the room, as Ed put his head on the table and groaned. That had come out wrong. He wasn't trying to break up with her. The mere idea of not being with her upset him. He just wanted to ask her if she understood how dangerous their lives were going to be. He ruined the entire conversation before he'd gotten to the point though and now, she was upset with him.

He would wait for a bit and then go hunt her down to try again, preferably while the boys were occupied because he didn't want his sons to see them fight anymore than he wanted to see them walking away from them. Before he could continue down that line of self-doubt something mildly warm and squishy hit the back of his head, reminding him that his younger son was still waiting to finish his lunch…which was now wedged in Ed's hair.

Ed lifted his head to look at the now potato covered infant. "Did you have to do that to Daddy?' He grumbled.

"Da!" Will responded slapping the bowl and sending potatoes right into Ed's face.

"I guess you did then." Ed said with a sigh as he stood to retrieve a washcloth and clean up the mess made by his younger son. He heard the snickers from the doorway and turned to see his Dad standing there.

"I'll clean him up. I laughed, it's my job." Roy said, when Ed glared. He had heard the whole argument, everyone in the dining room had, and decided it would be best to give Ed a break. The others had all already left the house suddenly remembering a very urgent trip to the market. Roy had stayed behind to mind the children.

Ed wandered upstairs to wash his hair and Roy cleaned up the kitchen and bathed the baby before Winry came back down with Yuery. She looked around for Ed knowing full well he wouldn't go anywhere without his kids and not say anything. "Here, I'll take Yu, Ed went to go wash his hair. GO talk to him, I think you should hear him out before reacting, and if he's being stupid then tear into him, but Ed doesn't respond well to being pushed, you know that as well. I can't imagine him leaving you Winry, I think he's just reacting to everything that's happened."

"He better not be dumping me because of all this or I'm intentionally making his next leg too short." Winry said angrily.

"Just go talk to him." Roy said. "I have the boys under control, don't I?"

"Yeye, walk pease?" Yuery said in response.

"Of course, we can go for a walk, here let's go get Will's sling. Shall we go look at the ducks again?'

"DUCKS" Yuery yelled excitedly as he attempted to shove on his own shoes.

Winry took a deep breath and went back up the stairs to hunt down her fiancé. She found Ed face down on his pillow, hair still wet and clingy. "You better have dried your automail Edward." She said automatically.

Ed waved a hand without lifting his head in a manner that seemed to agree that he had. She still frowned, it wasn't good for him to fall asleep with wet hair, he could catch a cold, or introduce mold to his pillow. Plus, he should get dressed in more than just his boxers it was the middle of the day even if he was napping. "We need to talk about what happened downstairs." Winry said and Ed just muttered into his pillow. She rolled her eyes. "Look Ed, I know you're not okay right now. I know you're blaming yourself, even though it isn't your fault. I know you're scared I'm going to end up hurt, but I know the dangers Ed. I know better than most. Don't forget I've seen it all Ed. I lost my parents because bad people made bad choices. I watched my best friend get torn apart time and again because he has to always try to help. I've seen the same haunted look in your brother's eyes, and your Dad's I know. I know that there is no way to stop being hurt by all these things and if you tried to walk away they would follow you because it's who you are…but if I walked away they would still use me against you Ed. I know that too. So why not be happy when we can?"

"You make it sound so easy Win." Ed said.

"It's not easy. Nothing about this is easy. But it is our lives. I want to spend it with you. I know the risks. I know there's a good chance that at some point or another I'll be used against you again. I'm willing to take the risk to have today with you and those boys." Winry said and he hugged her.

"I need one promise from you Winry." Ed said as he held her close, and she nodded. "The next time I tell you to take the kids and run, I need you to do it. Don't ask questions. Don't argue. Just do it. That's what I need from you."

"Okay." Winry said.

Park

Roy met with the others who had bought the groceries and were on their way back when they saw him with the boys. He waived, and said when they were close enough "We're giving Mommy and Daddy a chance to talk it out by watching the ducks right Yuery?"

"Ducks! Over dere Yeye." Yuery said pointing to the small pond.

"What a wonderful idea, I believe I shall watch the ducks as well," Riza replied and fell into step with Roy. Al and Mei smiled, and insisted they needed to sit for awhile under one of the trees. Izumi sighed and informed Sig they needed to go check on Mason at the shop.

Riza took Yuery's hand and led him right to the water so he could see the ducks. He squealed happily at them as he tugged at her hand and said "Ducks Nainia!"

"Yes Yu, ducks- What did you say?" Riza said wide eyed.

"I hope you don't mind, I taught it to him. It means Grandma." Roy said.

"No, that's fine. I mean, I like it." Riza said with a small smile.

"Oh good, because I already taught him to say it…and Will." Roy said. Will couldn't prove that one way or the other at the moment as he was firmly asleep.

"Do you think the house will be standing when we return?" Riza asked.

"I think everything will have returned to normal by the time we return. Winry is his Queen." Roy replied. Riza nodded, one of the few people who understood what that really meant.

Hogwarts

Headmaster's Office

Early Evening

Snape walked calmly into the room, as he had every evening since his return. Dumbledore barely looked up as Snape, with a flick of his wrist, stole yet another bottle of Fire whiskey from him. "Pull yourself together, or step down. You said yourself the war is not over, that the Dark Lord is bidding his time before his return. We need a leader not a drunk."

"I gave you a year Severus, you could at least give me a week." Dumbledore said.

"I am not the leader of shit." Snape said coldly. "I also loved her deeply."

"How do you know I didn't love him?" Dumbledore said before going quiet. Until this moment he had insisted that it was simply a dear friend who had died. Snape had doubted that to be the case, as had Minerva. She wanted to give him time, Severus wanted to try this more hands-on approach.

"This will scar. It's not a scar yet, it is still a wound. If you insist on picking at it by ignoring the pain and drowning it in whiskey it will not scar. It will fester and eat at you until there is nothing left. Let it become a scar Albus. There is no way to bring him back, whoever he was, but you can move on. Find something to fight for and hold onto the idea of it until you have healed, and then keep holding onto it because otherwise you are failing their memory." Severus said. "If you can't do this, then you will let it fester and rot until all you are left with is anger and grief."

"You've been talking to the owner of the Hogshead. I recognize that speech." Albus said.

"Who do you think got me sober? You? He's got a lot of pain he carries, but it's scars, not wounds."

"He's my brother." Albus said quietly.

"I know." Severus replied. "We talk about how much we hate you all the time."

Dumbledore laughed at this, actually laughed. Snape was pleased to see the man was sober for a change. He then decided this might be a good time to bring up something Dumbledore had said the other day. "So, you hate his wife you said?"

"She had more. Had more time with him. He gave her part of him he never shared with anyone else. Never would." Dumbledore said in reply. "I think he must love her."

"So why did he keep coming back to you?"

"I have no idea."

"Tomorrow. Tomorrow you will be Professor Albus Dumbledore, unshakable leader of Hogwarts, and Order of the Phoenix. For tonight, we do not drink alone."

Central Headquarters

Early Morning

Heidrich ran the office with an efficiency that would please Hawkeye. Every form and file that could be handled without the General's signature directly was carried out. The pile awaiting the General's return was comparatively small, and anything too urgent to wait for him was passed over to General Armstrong or the Fuhrer. It had been agreed upon that this was the best course of action. Havoc ran Colonel Elric's office in the same manner impressing everyone who knew the man. He had always riveled Mustang in his ability to procrastinate.

New Generals would need to be promoted soon of course, at the moment there were only two and one of them was officially on bereavement leave. The military could not continue to function in such a manner, they needed a new council of twelve the Fuhrer could trust.

Unfortunately, so far, the list they had come up with contained Colonel Alex Armstrong, Colonel Edward Elric, General Roy Mustang, and General Olivier Armstrong. No one felt Edward was ready for the promotion yet, even without his own bereavement leave. Mustang was slotted to be named officially Lt. Fuhrer when he returned, which left the Armstrongs. The Armstrongs were not a problem in themselves, it was more that they needed more. Still, Alex's promotion ceremony was scheduled, and the search continued for both traitors and future Generals.

Some promotions from within the offices of Mustang, Elric, Armstrong and Armstrong were possible. All of their officers had been vetted. The idea of thinning the offices with promotions was unappealing, however it may come to it.

General Armstrong had suggested a promotion for her adjutant, Colonel Miles, which would remove him from her office so would be a personal loss on her part, but on the other hand would help Ishbalan/Amestrian relations. Likewise, Hawkeye was being considered, if Mustang was to be promoted to the second highest spot in the land, then Hawkeye sitting on the council of twelve would go a long way toward making things safer. That still left six slots. Six slots that Grumman wanted filled before Mustang and Elric returned.

He took to sweeping through the files that had been presented to him after being cleared from suspect of corruption. Somewhere in these lists there had to be six more worthy of the slots. Time and again, he came back to Elric, but the fact remained, that for all his strength and good will, he was still only sixteen.

In the end, he found his council. Olivier Armstrong, Alex Armstrong, Abraham Miles, Riza Hawkeye, Karl Heidrich, Malcolm Fritz, Amos Faulker, Matthew Jameson, Agatha Brittle, Sofia Aper, Marjorie Braun, and Taylor Grunt would all be officially sworn in at the beginning of the week. When Roy Mustang returned, he would be named officially Lt. Fuhrer, and Edward Elric would be taking over his duties running the state alchemist program. His own promoted would wait at least until after his birthday, for the Fuhrer's conscience if nothing else.

The wounds the pocketed their lands needed time to heal, and though Edward had done a great deal to help them, he was young, with a young family, and had already more than paid his pound of flesh. It was time to let the boy rest for now. Before anything else was taken from him. Edward had made one request directly and discretely when he took his office. Release the moratorium on magic users.

Grumman had done just that, but he could not and would not make them public knowledge. Not yet. To many changes had already befallen their people this year, another major event could destabilize the country. Instead, like most of the world, they would currently remain secret. Only for a little longer. Xing and Amestris had signed the treaty that included the creation of the school.

Rebuilding of Xerxes would begin next year, and considering the ones in control of the rebuilding it wouldn't take long at all, and at that point they would have to announce the existence of magic, along with several other thing that so far had remained hidden. Grumman was not looking forward to all of it. Some days he thought seriously and longingly about a near future when he would hand over the reins to his future grandson-in-law.

With that in mind, he was also seriously considering naming the country a monarchy, but he would need to talk to the others first. He had agreed after all to not make any major decisions about the country without them. He was officially the leader, and in daily practice he was the leader, but he was merely holding the place until Mustang was ready to take over, and most of the people close to the situation knew it.

Grumman decided he was done for the day, despite it still being early, and a pile of paperwork awaiting him, because he was suddenly very much feeling his age. He worried sometimes, that he wasn't going to be able to stick it out long enough to stick to the timeline. He needed to hold on long enough for Mustang to return, but wanted to hold on long enough for Mustang to lead the Ishbalan restoration efforts, which would begin as soon as he returned from his leave and they officially promoted him.

He had agreed, and still agreed, that during the time Mustang was out East, Armstrong would be in charge of the labs and state alchemist program so that Edward would be free to join his father. Partly because things would go so much faster and smoother with Edward involved and partly because no one wanted to separate the boy from his father so soon.

Grumman signed off on this final bit of paperwork and read through the final list of arrests. It appeared Headquarters was officially and finally cleared. It was time to send for Mustang. He would given them until Monday to return, after all, it seemed tomorrow should be a good day to declare a national holiday.

Grumman packed up his things, and left the office, feeling lighter than he had a few hours before as he handed the letter to the mail clerk to be sent out immediately. It included news of Hawkeye's and Mustang's promotions and the news of the safety of their return.

Curtis Residence

Evening

Izumi, Riza, Winry, and Mei were sitting in the front room as they waited for Sig, Roy, Ed, and Al to finish cooking the dinner they promised. The women had kept the babies with them so they couldn't be used as a distraction. The pets were sitting on the hearth, a small fire lit but not blazing.

Yuery was happily playing with his blocks and attempting to show William how to stack them. Luckily, Yuery had not had as many accidents recently, whether that was because Ed was getting better at cutting off his temper or Yuery was getting better at controlling himself was unknown.

Luckily though, they were all more relaxed about it than they had been in previous months. Magic, while secret, was no longer illegal so they didn't have to worry about anyone showing up to try to take the boy. Recently, Ed had been suggesting that soon he would start teaching him the basic principles of Alchemy theory after reading Flame's books on the subject he was convinced it would help his son gain control easier.

For tonight though, they were all just enjoying themselves. Everyone was relieved that the young couple had sorted out their issues while everyone was gone, and both seemed in a much better mood.

Al and Ed were still fighting over the proper creation of biscuits, however. Sig just shook his head at the boys and continued to stir one of the pots on the stove, while Roy tried to calm them down before dough became a projectile. Ed had a handful of it and was pointing at Al angrily with his other hand, but it could still go either way.

Yuery stood from the block tower after the third time his brother knocked it over and came up to Izumi. "Nonna, make 'liam stop." He said as he pulled her to her feet.

"William, let's play something else now, shall we?" She asked the almost eleven-month-old.

"No." William responded before once again pushing over the blocks.

"I will not tolerate such rudeness." Izumi said as she scooped up the now angry infant and carried him over to plop in Winry's lap. "Here, sit with Mommy until you can behave."

Izumi then went back over and sat on the floor with Yuery instead of returning to her chair. She began helping him to restack his block tower as he had done it before.

"What's impressive is he looks for patterns already." Mei said as they all watched and Winry shushed the younger boy.

"What's impressive is he never hits his brother. He's two and he's an Elric." Winry said with a smile. "Elric's aren't known for the calm tempers."

"While this is true, William is also his brother which seemed to be an instant upgrade in the patience department for all Elrics." Riza replied.

"Well I suppose that's true too." Winry said just as Roy poked his head through the door.

"Don't let anyone fool you! They are united against the world, but those boys can and have had fist fights over the last piece of chicken. "Roy said with a smile "Of course the best way to curb that behavior is to eat the last piece yourself."

Everyone laughed in both rooms, before Roy announced that it was finally time for dinner. Yuery ignored the statement in favor of returning the last few blocks to their previous location. Izumi stood and held her arms out to the toddler to let him know it was time to quit. Yuery gave a sigh that sounded so much like Ed, that all the women turned to look at him.

"Ed! Your son is imitating you again!" Winry yelled as they went into the dining room.

"I can't help that!" Ed returned bring in a platter. "I try to get him to stop but he just keeps going with it."

"I wonder why." Al said dryly bringing in more food, followed by Roy and Sig.

"Is Mason not joining us tonight?" Mei asked as they all sat around the table.

"Mason decided to do the right thing and take some time to think. He borrowed my canoe, so I assume he will be back in about a month." Izumi said calmly. The others just nodded at this; it was for the best. It kept him out of Ed's reach until Ed calmed down enough to not actually hurt him, just enough to remind him that Ed was not one to tolerate his child being treated like that.

The wounds of loss were starting to heal, to scar over. Once Ed had been able to voice his concerns, he had seemed calmer about everything as well. He was still sad, was unlikely to stop being sad, but he was no longer as desperate. Soon, they would have to return to their lives in Central and they all knew it.

"Oh, Edward, tomorrow I was wondering if you would like to go on a small hike with me. I would greatly enjoy the company."

"…Okay. Are you feeling alright Teacher?" Ed frowned in return. She looked healthy enough, whatever HE had done to help her, at least Hohenheim had done that much.


	15. Teacher

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edward hated getting up before the sun, he especially hated getting up before his sons. Izumi had insisted however, that he accompany her today, and with the papers announcing the appointment of the new Council of Twelve it was likely they would receive word that they were cleared to return home either today or tomorrow.

Teacher

Curtis Butchers

Dawn

Edward hated getting up before the sun, he especially hated getting up before his sons. Izumi had insisted however, that he accompany her today, and with the papers announcing the appointment of the new Council of Twelve it was likely they would receive word that they were cleared to return home either today or tomorrow. Today had also been declared a national holiday in celebration of the new council. The names of the twelve had not been released, which Ed knew meant that either Roy or Riza had made the cut, and considering he had been in on those meetings he assumed he owed his soon-to-be-stepmother a congratulations…he also needed to come up with a home name for her, because she couldn't be mom. He couldn't call her that, but it didn't feel right to call her Riza if she was married to Dad either.

"You're awfully quiet, don't tell me sitting at a desk has weakened you that much." Izumi said from in front of him, earning her a glare.

"I'm thinking." Ed said in reply. "I have a lot to think about actually."

"Think about setting a wedding date." Izumi said.

"…That's one of the things on my mind, yes." Ed said, now Winry joining the mental juggling competition in his head. The spring sounded like a good time to plan for. It was still six months away, giving them plenty of time to plan, and possibly invite Ling. Though if he invited Ling it was libel to become a whole big thing…though if Grumman got word of their planning (and he already had) it was going to be made into a thing anyway. If not for the fact that Winry would castrate him for suggesting it, he was tempted to just let the State plan it and he just show up.

Somehow, Izumi knew that thought had occurred to him. He knew thanks to the extremely loud glare she shot over her shoulder, though judging by the lack of yelling she either realized he'd already rejected the idea or she planned to tell Winry… he might not have to worry about any of this after all.

"Where are we going anyway?" Ed asked in an attempt to distract her and hopefully save his life…or at least keep his body (mostly) intact.

"My Teacher has requested I bring you for a visit." Izumi said. "She wishes to see how I faired as a Teacher."

"…You mean the one who stuck you up at Briggs in the winter?" Ed said, freezing in his tracks. He did NOT want to meet the kind of person who thought sticking a teenager alone in the mountains in the winter was a good idea. She might decide he need the same treatment.

"Hurry up. She's judging me, not you, based on you, not me, so don't let that desk job slow you down." Izumi said.

Ed was terrified. He'd known Izumi half his life. He'd heard the horror stories of her training. He had children to think of! Surely, they couldn't force a high(ish) ranking military officer into a thirty day training program.

They rounded the final corner and the trees split to reveal a rather large house with a well-manicured garden. An older woman sat in a wicker lawn chair under the shade of an umbrella, as what appeared to be a butler offered her a drink. Ed continued to internally panic. He'd seen the influence this class had on the military. It was entirely possible he was going to spend a month on a mountain.

They walked into the garden, Edward appearing far more composed than he actually was, and were invited to join the woman for tea. Once a table and two more chairs were carried out, and the table set with tea and a variety of pastries the butler and maids excused themselves, and Izumi finally spoke. "Teacher. It is good to see you again."

"Of course it is child." The woman said dismissively, and Ed bristled. Teacher-Izumi- had never once used that tone with him, even when she knew he had done terrible things and she expelled him, she had never used that tone. "Who have you brought me then?"

"Colonel Edward Mustang Elric ma'am." Ed answered before Teacher could, he was tired of this woman already. "Fullmetal"

"Ah yes, I've heard of you." She nodded and set down her glass. "Mustang -Elric? Have you ever heard the name Van Hohenheim?"

"I have." Ed said through gritted teeth.

"You look remarkably like him actually." She said.

"Teacher." Izumi interrupted, warning in her tone.

"Silence child." The elder woman snapped. "Tell me Edward Mustang Elric. Have you Ever met Hohenheim?"

"Unfortunately. He'd dead now though." Ed replied, trying to calm himself. He wasn't going to ask her in return, she was just trying to get under his skin. He knew damn well that he looked entirely too much like his biological father.

"Teacher, you knew the answer to that question by the time he was nine. I told you myself." Izumi said. "Just as you always instructed, when I finally took a student I came up here and told you everything about my new student while he took his first test."

"Silence." The woman said again, and Ed had had enough.

"Well, it is truly remarkable how well Izumi faired as both a teacher and a mother considering who taught her." Ed seethed.

"Izumi isn't a mother, she failed at that too." The woman replied and Izumi flinched.

"She was a second mother to my brother and me. Come on Teacher, you don't have to take this woman's shit, let's just go." Ed said standing.

"If you insist on insulting me boy, at least do me the courtesy of using my name." she replied sharply.

"Well you haven't exactly introduced yourself Lady, not that I give a damn." Ed said as he turned to walk away.

"Generally, I go by Dante Hohenheim these days." The woman said, and Ed froze. No, she couldn't be implying what he thought she was implying. It wasn't possible. She had to be lying. "That's right boy, you are the bastard son of my worthless cad of a husband and one of his whores."

"Don't speak about my mother like that!" Ed screamed wanting to hit the woman, old or not. "She was the most loving wonderful woman I have ever known."

"I'm sure she was, it's not like he ever chose wicked women when he went galivanting around. He was attempting to sire a spawn after all." The woman said dismissively. "I failed to give him one, so he went looking elsewhere."

"I'm leaving." Ed announced, he didn't wait to see if Izumi had followed him. He stormed out of the garden and down the path they had just climbed. He was enraged. He refused to admit the reason the path was suddenly so hard to see. It was the early hour, it wasn't tears. Ed wasn't about to cry over anything that man did. He already knew the man was a worthless bastard.

Izumi caught up to him just as he reached the edge of town. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him into a hug, but he pushed out of it. "Did you know all along? Is that why you took me as a student?"

"I didn't know until today Ed." Izumi replied trying again to hug him.

"Bullshit! Hohenheim is not a common name, and we gave it to you!" He screamed.

"She didn't!" Izumi replied. "I was her student for two years, I never met her husband and she didn't."

"Bullshit." Ed said again, pulling free from her and running the rest of the way to the house.

He arrived upstairs before she had reached their block and he rushed to his room, calling on the way into the woman's "Get packed, we're leaving." He entered his own room, and repeated himself before grabbing bag and just dumping a drawer into it, then grabbing the boys bags and doing the same. Roy looked concerned but packed his own bag as well as Al's who was in the shower. "What happened?" He asked as Ed started dressing William first.

"Izumi's teacher is my father's wife." Ed said, as he gently set his younger son on the bed and picked up the elder. "I can't stay here Dad."

"Okay." Roy replied, before opening the door and knocking at the bathroom. "Al, change of plans, we need to catch the next train. Ladies please hurry." He saw Izumi appear at the bottom of the stairs, so went back into the room and shut the door.

Ed finished dressing Yuery, who looked disgruntled and confused, as Roy came back over to him. Wordlessly, Roy offered his arms and Ed collapsed into his embrace. He finally allowed himself to cry. Not scream or sob or wail like he wanted to but allowed the tears to silently flow. Roy stroked his hair and murmured his normal assurances of love and caring. William and Yuery both crawled into the hug, which was also very common for them. Ed heard Izumi outside the door, but just buried his head harder into his Dad's chest.

"It shouldn't hurt. It shouldn't" Ed muttered. "I already knew he was a bastard. But a wife? Why?"

"I can't answer that, and I've seen it all growing up as I did. I've never understood it though." Roy said. "Are you sure Izumi knew though? It doesn't seem like her to keep something like that from you."

"She said she didn't, but bullshit. She also said she came and told Dante about us while we were still on the island. Why would she do that if she didn't know?" Ed said. "I can't think about it properly here. Can we just go? Please? I don't care where we go, just not here."

"Of course, we'll head straight to the station." Roy replied, outside the door it was growing louder as everyone gathered in the hallway. Apparently, everyone had listened though, because Izumi was asking them all to give her a chance to explain before they left.

Roy helped Ed put on the baby sling, and shooed the cat and dog into their carriers, before handing Ed the diaper bags and Yuery and grabbing the rest of the luggage himself. Outside of the room, Winry and Al were demanding to know what happened. "What happened is we were lied to. Al, Izumi's teacher was married to Hohenheim." Ed said before heading toward the stairs. "We're leaving. Now."

Everyone was quick to follow, and Izumi offered one last statement before they walked out the door. "I swear Ed, I never knew! She always said her name was Dante Flamel!"

Sig offered to help carry their luggage, and Ed reluctantly agreed, as they walked, Ed said "Judging by the papers this morning it should be safe to return to Central. I think we should just go home. Riza might want to stay at our place until we confirm it's safe though."

"Agreed." Roy took over the lead so that he could reach the ticket booth first. He quickly booked them a private car, and they all filed onto the train with ten minutes to spare. It was tighter than normal, and if the trip was going to be longer than a few hours he would have had to book two, as it was both William and Yuery would have to sit on someone's lap the entire time, and it was lucky that Al and Mei were both very thin.

On the left sat Roy, Riza, and Al with Yuery on Roy's lap. On the right sat Ed, Winry, and Mei with William on Ed's lap. Yuery spent the first few minutes before the train set off babbling to his brother about the train. William was babbling back just as excited and nowhere near as easy to understand.

The pet carriers, for lack of room, were placed under the window and the pets remained caged. The cat let them know that she was not impressed with the idea. As the train started moving the pets settled down, and the babies both yawned. Roy looked over at Ed again, to see how he was holding up, but before he could ask anything, AL cleared his throat.

"Umm. Brother. What did you mean back there? About His wife?" Al asked hesitantly.

"We got to the lady's place. She was very hostile. She kept making all these jabs at Izumi, so I told her to back off, and she turned her attention to me, which is when she said I didn't even know who I was talking to and said her name was Dante Hohenheim and that –" Ed said, then cutting himself off because he didn't want to repeat what the woman had said about his mother.

"And what Ed?" Winry asked. "She said something that upset enough to tear in and demand we leave."

"She said some really terrible things about Mom. She also said that Izumi had told her all about me and Al back when we were kids. So, excuse me if I don't believe Izumi that she didn't know because she admitted to telling her all about us!" Ed frowned, then cooed down at William who stiffened at his Dad's tone.

"I think we should let it rest for a few days, then I will call Izumi and get to the bottom of what she knew. I'll have Mei listen in, she's not as accurate over the phone but she should be able to tell if Izumi is lying." Al suggested.

"Do what you want Al." Ed said before leaning his head back to indicate he fully intended to pretend to sleep the rest of the trip. He was too stressed to actually sleep but it wouldn't be the first time he faked it either.

Everyone exchanged looks but let the matter drop. Ed could never tolerate anyone saying anything he perceived as an insult to his mother. He held the woman on a pedestal, and they all knew it. Not that she wasn't a wonderful person and a great mother. Everyone who knew her said she was, but Ed was very protective of her memory. Anyone who dared to suggest his mother was anything less than perfect ever was met with his anger.

Roy still remembered clearly an incident in Ed's first year, when he overheard a private in the cafeteria ask what kind of mother must she be to let her twelve year old join, and suggested she did not care. Ed had been suspended for two weeks, and on desk duty another two. The private in question declined pressing charges when Havoc visited him in the hospital waiting for them to set his arm. He informed the man that the boy was a war orphan and had been through a lot, and then reminded him that the boy was favored by both the Fuhrer and Mustang.

Ed never found out about that visit. Roy only found out about it a year ago when sharing a room with a very drugged Havoc. Roy, had also been to visit the man, apparently after Havoc. TO check on him and apologize for Ed's reaction, explaining the child had been on his own for awhile and suffered from trauma issues but Roy was working on it. The private had quickly admitted he was partly to blame, and Roy walked away without questioning their good fortune.

In the years since then Ed had mellowed enough that he no longer hit, honestly he hadn't meant to hit that hard then either, he was still getting used to automail, but insulting his mom was still a hair trigger for him. His brother and his height as well as his children could set of a rant at anytime.

Al didn't know what to think. Their Father had a wife? Why? He considered the odds of the woman being a liar and felt they were good. After all, Brother was rather famous and it wasn't the first time someone started rumors to undermine him. Al was even guilty of believing some of those rumors in the past which is why at this point he did his best to never believe any of them until he heard it from his brother, but then again he was hearing it from Brother.

Either way, the real question was why she decided to tell Brother. Clearly she must have some intent for something to have said it. The reason why she would do this now may simply be that he was dead now. He also couldn't defend himself for that reason. Al wondered, if maybe they had burnt any hope a

Of answers with their house.

He needed to call Granny when they got home. He would wait until Ed was busy, but he remembered vaguely that she had transferred some of Hohenheim's Journals while Brother was in Central tacking the Exam. Speaking of the Exam, he decided that would be the best distraction on them all. He turned to his brother and Dad and said in his most serious tone. "So, should I consider taking the State Alchemist Exam?"

"What the hell Al? Why?" Ed said.

"Absolutely not." Roy demanded.

"Why is it okay for Brother to be a State Alchemist, but not me?" Al sighed, it had worked perfectly.

"Because you aren't risking going to war Al! I can get all the research you could possibly need and I already know what I'm doing." Ed growled.

"I was there with you for all of it, as you like to point out. I already know too. Plus it's a lot safer than it was under Bradley." Al reasoned.

"You are not old enough or strong enough AL. It's bad enough I talked your brother into staying in the program, I'm not throwing you into it too." Roy pinched the bridge of his nose, "That is not to say Edward that I care any less about your safety than I do Alphonse's"

"No, I agree. I'm in. It's the life I chose, and the price I paid, but he needs to find his own path. I don't even know where this is coming from anyway, aren't you supposed to be part of that School Project?" Ed said as he turned back to Al.

"Well that it still a couple of years off, and I was just thinking that perhaps-"Al started but now Mei joined the others with a glare.

"Alphonse Elric! You can not join the military. If you really are that bored, you can return with me to Xing to finalize the plans for the School." Mei demanded.

"Okay." Al said, not understanding why both Dad and Ed started laughing, until they both cut themselves off at the glares received by Riza and Winry.

"This matter is closed." Roy added. "Until you reach the age of majority you would have to get my consent to attempt the Exam and I will not sign."

"Ed still isn't the age of majority. Not until he turns seventeen, why is he staying?" Al asked, frowning.

"Al, I was emancipated, I've technically been legally an adult since I joined. That's why Dad had to have my signature to adopt me, but he didn't need yours. It's also why we were able to travel so freely."

"This is true, though as your commanding officer I was also your acting next of kin and had to be asked before they could assign you anything until you reached fifteen, which is the State minimum standard for emancipation as revised after you managed to sneak through the cracks." Roy smirked, having been involved in both getting Ed through the test and suggesting the new law that also made drafting anyone under sixteen impossible. He wanted to make it older, but they wouldn't go for it. Al sighed, he'd distracted them all into a better moods, but now everyone was irritated with him. He wondered if it had been a fair trade after all.


	16. Funeral

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "So you finally got around to actually asking huh Dad?" Ed said, "Took you long enough, I kinda figured we were going to have to just arrange the wedding and then trick the two of you into showing up." He was joking of course, as Roy could tell by his tone.
> 
> "Yeah well, at least I actually asked her instead of screaming in her face like a baboon until she finally caught onto what I was saying!" Roy growled back, unable to help it.
> 
> "I didn't take ten years to ask her though, because I'm not useless." Ed taunted. "Or did she ask you?"
> 
> "I'm not useless! You microscopic –"
> 
> "Who are you calling so tiny he could be mistaken as his own son?"
> 
> "You!"

Funeral

Mustang-Rockbelle-Elric Residence

10:00 pm

Alphonse felt terrible calling Granny this late, but at least she was used to it. Still, he had been forced to wait until Ed had gone to bed; Ed had been up longer than Al had expected. Usually these days Ed was in bed (though not asleep) by eight because he didn't like leaving the boys alone. Tonight, he left them with Winry, and had just been wandering around the house.

Technically, Ed was still up, but he was in the Study with Dad so chances were in Al's favor that he could make this call without Ed finding out. They'd both had their journals out after all. Granny picked up on the third ring and AL slumped, realizing how much he had wanted to hear her as soon as he did. "Hey Granny, it's Al."

"Al? What has your brother done now?" Granny asked. "Wait, where's Winry?"

"Ed hasn't done anything, and Winry's fine she's with the boys right now." AL said, before taking a deep breath. "Listen Granny…did you keep any of Hohenheim's personal journals? Not his research journals, his personal ones, that were up high on the top shelf? I know Mom always told us to leave those ones alone."

"I. Yes, I kept them all, as well as several of his research books, I guessed you boys would want them someday no matter what you said then. Why?"

"… Have you ever heard the name Flamel?"

"Isn't that what Ed calls the mark you boys wear?"

"Yeah." Al said, wondering what Ed was thinking of that at this point before deciding not to borrow trouble.

"It's the only time I ever heard of it was you boys." Granny said. "What's going on Al?"

"Hohenheim had a wife. She found and talked to Ed today. He's really upset." Al sighed and looked around to be sure no one had entered the room or hallway. "I was hoping if I could read his journals I might find out something about this."

"Do you want me to send them to you?"

"…I think maybe I should come visit. I'll bring Mei so you can meet her." Al bit his cheek for a minute "I'm going to wait a few days…I need to make sure Ed is okay, and that it's safe for us to travel. Dad may insist on an escort anyway with everything that's happening."

"That reminds me young man. Next time I do not want to find out my grandchildren and great grandchildren are in danger from the newspaper." Granny yelled. "When is the funeral? I am coming and you kids will not freeze me out of your problems."

Al cringed. He wasn't sure if any of them had called Granny when Rose died. Everything had moved so fast then. Instead of trying to remember he just apologized and promised to call as soon as he knew. He hung up just before a door opened upstairs and rushed to his room.

Winry had seen him, but decided not to worry about it as she carried William downstairs and to the study, she barely bothered to knock as she opened the door, interrupting the conversation. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but Will here doesn't want to go to sleep and he keeps trying to wake Yu."

"Hand him here." Roy said, as he reached for the baby. Will frowned but reached for his grandfather. Winry smiled gratefully.

"Okay, well I'm going to go lie down with Yuery, don't let William stay up to late." She said as she kissed the baby's forehead and the Ed's cheek before rushing back out of the study so the baby couldn't decide he wanted her to play with him instead.

William looked like he was going to cry for a minute then began chewing on his fingers and looking around the room he had never before entered. Ed smirked at the boy, ruffling his shaggy brown hair. "He's teething" Ed stated with the veteran wisdom of a second time parent.

"Clearly." Roy pulled out a bottle from his bottom drawer and poured a small amount of amber liquid into his glass before dipping his finger and rubbing the baby's gums. Ed laughed at the baby's insulted expression. "I think he wants you now."

Ed reached out for his son, and William dived for him. He rubbed the baby's back in slow circles as he swayed, letting the child play with the ends of his hair. Roy smiled at them both, as Will laid his head on Ed's shoulder and started singing along to the song his Daddy was singing. Soon the child had fallen asleep, Ed sat back down and grabbed his journal.

"Are you going to put him to bed?" Roy asked as he reopened his own journal.

"Nah, not yet. I haven't been spending enough with him the last few days." Ed whispered, feeling comforted by the familiar weight of a child in his arms.

"We need to talk about it at some point, and I didn't want to disrupt his sleep pattern if you become upset."

"I know better than to yell with a baby in my arms, I only did twice with Yu." Ed replied, and sounded insulted.

"It's a sensitive topic Ed, I expect it to be upsetting, but you can't just let it fester." Roy sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. " If you don't want to talk about it with me, at least find someone to talk to."

"Who? My best friend is running his own country all the way across the desert and we don't have the phone lines yet…not that I could talk about something this sensitive over the phone anyway. Winry is hurting too. Al…I've burdened Al enough. I can and will find a way to live with the fact that I failed yet another person who trusted me to take care of them. "

"I was talking about the reason we jumped on the express train, but yes we need to talk about Rose too. He funeral will be Monday, Grumman called personally after dinner."

"Okay. Well, I had hoped it would be soon. I want her honored." Ed replied, before frowning. "Is the media going to be there? The media is going to be all over this aren't they?"

"I'm afraid so." Roy replied. "The news of her kidnapping and death as well as her relationship to this family has been the speculation of the media for weeks now. Unfortunately, I do not believe we will be able to keep them away, but I will ensure they do not question you and the boys."

"Thank you." Ed replied gratefully, "I don't want to talk about that Dante woman. I tried to convince myself she was lying…but I didn't really know him well enough to know if she was, so…it's over now, he's dead, it doesn't matter."

"It hurt you. It matters. I can't fix it, but it matters."

"I can't let it matter." Ed's greatest fear in regard to fatherhood had always been repeating his birth father's mistakes. He worked hard to ensure that he was not comparable to Hohenheim, but he worried constantly. He did still belong to the military, though he had been assured over and over, there was a chance that one of their borders could be attacked, or an uprising could occur, and that would take him from his family for months if not years. In the end, was he really any better than the man he hated? He worried about constantly.

Monday

Rose's Funeral

Cemetery

11:00 am

Granny had arrived the day before, as had Sig and Izumi. Ed was still refusing to speak to his former teacher, and therefore they had stayed at a hotel. Now they stood a row behind Edward, and he could feel her eyes on him, but he was not going to apologize.

Roy and Riza stood next to him on the left, Winry on his right. Al and Mei stood next to Winry. Winry held William in her arms and Yuery was standing between her and Ed. The ceremony was rather short compared to the ones received in the military cemetery, but it was longer than the civilian ones. It had been decided that since she was the mother of Edward's son, she would be buried in the family cemetery as if she were his wife, instead of the civilian one. Ed had no protest with this idea, she deserved the honor in his opinion after everything that she had gone through.

He and Roy and Riza were all of course dressed in their dress uniforms. Somehow, Winry had managed to find black suits for both boys over the weekend, or perhaps it was his Dad , because Winry hadn't gone anywhere as far as Ed had noticed, though he had made a point of sleeping whenever the boys were napping so it was possible he had missed it. Al and Winry were also dressed in black, but Mei wore the traditional robes of her people, a deep scarlet silk gown.

Once the funeral was over, he was forced (by tradition, not anyone else) to stand at the head of the procession line to accept the condolences of the attendants. It had been decided that they would be not be allowing anyone into their home, therefore, they would be driving to a banquet hall, not their house after this. Ed just wanted to take the boys and go back to bed, but it was expected of him to attend.

Russel and Fletcher were in the line, much to his surprise. He hadn't seen or spoken to either of them since Russel accused Ed of ruining 'their' reputation. He had no desire to fight with the other boy at Rose's memorial however, so he just nodded to their murmured condolences and let it go. It wasn't going to be that easy, but he could hope.

A few people later found the woman claiming to be his birth father's wife also offering her hand and sympathy. It was almost enough to break through the careful mask that Ed was holding in place. She leaned in and whispered "When you're ready for the truth Izumi knows where to find me. Your sons deserve to know at least."

Ed bristled, it sounded like a threat to him, not one that she was using, just that she knew about Yuery, which was serious because he couldn't just have her arrested. "There is nothing that you can tell me that could impact my sons."

"There you are wrong, but you'll seek me out soon, I'm sure." She replied before moving so he could greet the next person.

Once the long line had completed, finishing with a very emotional General Alex Armstrong. It was all Ed could do to retain enough dignity to NOT run from the man's attempted hug. Instead he said in a very panicked and rushed tone "General, don't! You'll crush my son!" Ed even spared a moment to mentally apologize to William for using him as a shield. Roy was not as fortunate, Yuery had abandoned him a few minutes earlier in favor of Riza, so was on the receiving end of a bone crushing hug.

After Roy managed to extract himself from Armstrong, with as much dignity as he could muster given the situation, they made their way to the car to join the others at the banquet hall. Riza and Winry were already in the car with Yuery, Al and Mei were with Granny in the car ahead of them, along with Gracia and the girls.

Ed slid inside still holding William, who had fallen asleep on his way down the hill, and Roy slid in after them. Without a word, Roy held out his arms to Yuery who leapt from Riza's lap to his own. "We don't have enough of these." Roy said jokingly, "We are constantly having to share."

"Well, I already have two, maybe it's time to get one of your own." Ed replied.

"Don't give him any ideas please, he already finds enough ways to avoid paperwork." Riza said drily.

"After this week, you will no longer be in charge of my paperwork Riza. Though in light of today's events I think it is in bad form to do this, I am going to at least tell my sons, Edward. Riza will officially be your step mother in the next few months."

"So you finally got around to actually asking huh Dad?" Ed said, "Took you long enough, I kinda figured we were going to have to just arrange the wedding and then trick the two of you into showing up." He was joking of course, as Roy could tell by his tone.

"Yeah well, at least I actually asked her instead of screaming in her face like a baboon until she finally caught onto what I was saying!" Roy growled back, unable to help it.

"I didn't take ten years to ask her though, because I'm not useless." Ed taunted. "Or did she ask you?"

"I'm not useless! You microscopic –"

"Who are you calling so tiny he could be mistaken as his own son?"

"You!"

Before it could continue, Riza calmly pulled out her gun and suggested they calm down before they arrived, and reminded them where they were going, instantly sobering both men. Winry suppressed a laugh, and secretly, Riza was glad to see that their relationship hadn't changed that much. They were still able to tease each other.

Banquet Hall

The turn out was larger than Ed had been expecting. The number of people in the room seemed to have increased since the cemetery, though that seemed unlikely. It was just more compressed, and without the comfort of being in someone's house for this part, it felt too much like a celebration for his tastes.

There was nothing to celebrate. Rose had been brutally tortured and murdered because she knew him. Because she named him her son's father to keep the child safe. It was wrong, everything about this was wrong and Ed had no idea how he was going to fix this, because he'd learned his lesson painfully, Life flowed in one direction. He couldn't restore his son's mother. Her killers had been punished, and it still felt hollow.

Yuery and William, two orphans, stuck with a reckless teenage disaster trying his best not to screw them up. Something of what he was thinking must have shown through because Dad was pulling him aside before they could actually enter the room, and suggested the other go on ahead, with the boys, and that they would be right there.

Roy dragged Ed into the closest bathroom and locked the door behind them before turning to the boy. "Deep breaths Ed. Just breathe. I know this is hard. I know that all you want to do is sit down and scream and that's okay. Just take a minute, get yourself together, because no matter what you're thinking, you did not fail. You did not cause this, and those two kids in there adore you and are lucky to have you."

Ed started to shake his head in denial, but before he could say anything his Dad had him in a hug and was swaying back and forth slightly, much like Ed did for his own kids when they were upset. Ed realized a minute later he was crying again. "They lost everything, both of them, and ended up stuck with just me. How am I supposed to give them what they need? I don't know what I'm doing Dad, I'm making it up as I go, and it seems like every step is the wrong one. I almost drove Winry away a week ago, I tried to help Rose and now her son is an orphan. I couldn't get there in time and Yuery lost everything. We just made William an orphan because he killed Rose and we had him killed, and I'm raising his son as if I didn't do that and how can I ever hope to raise them properly when I didn't even have a proper Dad until after I was a dad myself! Hohenheim was a worthless piece of shit who knocked my mom up and walked away and he did it intentionally! HE NEVER WANTED US! He never loved me. What's wrong with me? I screw up everything and everyone I touch. It should have been me."

Roy, who had been rubbing circles on Ed's back until this last statement, pulled the boy back to look him in the eye. "That's enough Edward. I know it hurts, but never say that about yourself again, never think it again. You are my son, Trisha's son, Riza's son. WE love you. WE want you. Never wish yourself gone like that, there is no comparison, no equivalent for you. I don't give a DAMN what Hohenheim thought. He was a fool to not realize how wonderful the sons he created were. That's him. Not me, and sure as hell not you. You would give anything for those boys. You HAVE given everything for everyone else as long as I have known you, you never ask for anything for you. You are a great father and a wonderful son. Your biggest flaw is you blame yourself for everything." Roy waited for Ed to nod before hugging him again. "And Ed? You would have to do a lot more than say a few misspoken words to drive that girl away from you. She stuck to you this long hasn't she?"

"I guess." Ed sniffed.

"Okay. Now, go wash and dry your face, we need to get back out there before people start looking for us." Roy said as he clapped to remove the wrinkles from his clothes.

"Did you just use your Gate Given Gift to fix your dry cleaning?"

"…Yes?"

"And you've yelled at me for years for doing that." Ed said with a smirk.

"Yeah well, I'm your Dad I'm allowed to be a hypocrite." Roy said, and Ed laughed slightly before using the same array to fix the wrinkles on his own jacket, and led the way back out of the bathroom.

They entered the hall, and either no one had noticed they had been missing or decided not to comment on it. Roy guessed it was the second with the glances at Ed's red rimmed eyes, but elected not to mention it and set the boy off again. He was so determined to be the best, he was going to burn out at this rate, and it was Roy's job to make sure that it didn't happen.

Russell approached again, shortly after Ed retrieved the boys and had sat in one of the chairs near the front of the hall. "Hey, Ed. I just wanted to say I'm sorry. It was really messed up what happened from what I read in the papers. I know I give you crap a lot but-"

"Thanks." Ed said, cutting him off before either of them could be embarrassed. He had never counted Russell among his friends, and that wasn't going to change just because Russell was being decent at a funeral. This was still the guy who pretended to be him on a regular basis to get free stuff and get out of trouble. "Have you thought more about applying for you own license? Instead of you know, using mine?"

"Well yeah, but what if they won't let Fletcher stay with me or something? I am not having my brother dragged into this."

"I know the guy running the program at this point, I think I can talk him into letting your brother stay with you." Ed replied, then he saw Dante approaching once again. "Excuse me though, something stinks here and I need it away from my kids." Ed stood, knowing full well that she had to have heard him but she approached anyway.

"Edward, I know I should have been kinder when I told you but really avoiding Izumi over this-"

"Russell, come walk with me. There are a few things we need to discuss before you can sign up for a spot to take the test." Ed said as he led Russel and Yuery away while holding William.

"He's just like his father you know." Dante said to Izumi who had come up behind her. "The first one's mother was barely in the grave when the second one was conceived, and we're here at the wake for that poor mother and he's already on to another one. I've read the newspapers. They may think it's all very tragic, but I see him for what he is. His father's son."

"He is his father's son. Roy Mustang is one of the most kind and honorable men I've seen have the misfortune of being found by the Alchemist Program, though since he was a child at the time much like Ed, I'm trying to let that part go. You don't know Edward or his hardships. Don't think because you read a couple of articles you know him." Izumi said, not noticing that Roy was standing just on the other side of the archway. "You cost me my relationship with those boys by lying to me Dante, I will no longer call you teacher. They were the closest I had to children."

"Stop sniveling Izumi. It doesn't become you. If you really want them back you can get them, though why you would want anything to do with them I have no idea."

"It is for the best you never had children." Izumi turned and walked away, finally noticing Roy as she went but not pausing to speak to him.

"I had no intention of interfering in this matter, but this is a memorial service, and you are attempting to turn it into a circus. Rose Thomas deserved better than that and her son certainly deserves better." Roy started as he walked over to the older woman. "I am truly sorry your husband mistreated you in such a way, but taking it out on children is unacceptable. I will not have you speak to either of my sons again, If I catch you so much as looking at my children I will have you arrested for harassment."

"They aren't really your children though are they? You only adopted them last year when they were already mostly grown."

"They are my children, and the only thing I regret about that is that I was unable to help them sooner. You may leave now, this is not open to you and you are not welcome." Roy walked away as he casually waved his team to take the woman away.

Ed, meanwhile, had separate from Russell as quickly as he could after giving him advice on the test. He then began wandering around the gathering, allowing people to once again offer their condolences while finding something suitable for his sons to eat. He noticed his dad having that woman removed which pleased him, and he just nodded stiffly when Izumi approached.

He wasn't sure if he should stay mad at her but for now he needed more time to work out how he felt, and she seemed to respect that, though she looked longingly at his sons before taking her leave. Ed wanted to go after her, demand to know why she kept something like this from him, but he couldn't with all these people around. He did see Al follow her out so hopefully Al could get some answers.

Al managed to catch Izumi before she got to far away, Sig holding her around the shoulders to offer her comfort. "Teacher! Wait please."

"Go back Alphonse. I won't be the reason you and your brother fight."

"He wants to forgive you Teacher, he doesn't know how. Maybe if you could just tell me what you know…"

"That's the problem Al. I found out when Ed did. I don't know any of it."


	17. Keep Moving Forward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ed refused to hire a nanny. He hadn't changed his mind on the subject even with the greater workload and a second child, Winry and Dad agreed for the most part, so they had everything perfectly scheduled. Mondays and Wednesdays the boys came to Ed's office as he reviewed State Alchemist Applications. Tuesdays and Thursdays they came in with Roy as he reviewed and approved paperwork, but had no meetings, and Fridays they went to work with Winry because it was her stocking day and both men were required in weekly meetings.

Keep Moving Forward

Mustang-Rockbelle-Elric Residence

6:00

Al had been up since four, unable to calm his nerves to sleep anymore. Mei had been up since five, because she had needed to pack. Dad had been up since five thirty because he had a lot to do before Tuesday when he was officially named Lt. Fuhrer. Riza had just gotten up, surprised that she was one of the last to rise. Roy had in and collected the boys as soon as he had showered and dressed, so they had been up for about fifteen minutes. Winry had just joined them as well, leaving only Edward to wake.

Winry then assured them all Ed had been awake at least since the boys had gotten up, but he had decided he wasn't getting out of bed. Al immediately assumed it was thanks to this trip Al was taking, even though Al hadn't said anything about looking into the journals or anything. Dad went to go check on Ed, and Al frowned about it all, still confused.

"Why is Edward so upset today?" Mei asked. "His Qi is so loud I can feel the negativity from here."

"I don't really know" Al said, "He seemed fine last night, but then he tries not to let me see when he's upset usually anyway."

Roy came back into the room then, and Al smiled at him. "Oh Dad, I'm leaving today, but before I do something terrible and forget I wanted to say happy birthday."

"Thank you Al, but please, don't" Roy said in return.

"I know we didn't really celebrate it as planned last year because Brother ended up spending most the night in your room because of nightmares, but it's different this year and-"

"It isn't Al. I'm sorry. This is not a good day for your brother, and to be honest, I'm not really in the mood to celebrate either. Perhaps next year. I love you Al, but please just let it go." Roy said, as he gathered a tray. "I'm going to go make Ed eat something. Winry are you okay with the boys? I know you probably need some sleep Ed said you stayed up with him last night."

"I'm fine, thank you. I'll just take a nap later." Winry said with a tired smile.

"Al," Riza said quietly after she checked to make sure Roy was completely gone. "Roy isn't going to want to celebrate his birthday on his birthday for a while, maybe ever. It's one of the biggest things that connected him and Maes when they first met. They had the exact same birthday. They celebrated it together every year since the academy. Your brother needing extra care last year because it was the anniversary of his loss helped Roy get through it, but he didn't deal with it either. Now it's really hitting him."

"…I didn't know it was Maes birthday too." Al said unhappily.

"I'm not sure Roy wanted you to know Al, but I felt you had a right to know. It's also the second anniversary of your brother learning he was a father, which he still feels a lot of guilt and stress over."

"Perhaps we should wait until tomorrow to leave." AL said sadly.

"Your brother would be angry with you Alphonse and we all know it." Granny Pinako said, she had been trying to avoid the conversation and had been standing out in the hallway with Havoc, who had let themselves in with Havoc's key. In short order Mei, Al and Granny had left with havoc to the train station.

Riza and Winry cleaned the kitchen and the boys, before Roy finally came back down with the now empty tray. "How bad were the nightmares Winry?"

"He didn't sleep." Winry said, "He didn't want to freak out like last year he said."

"I see." Roy said, frowning.

"I told him, you wouldn't care if he needed you. It doesn't matter that he's grown now, and he's engaged and your engaged, you're still his Dad and if he needs you its okay." Winry said, frowning as well. "He doesn't want anyone thinking he's weak."

"I'll talk to him about it. It hardly a common thing for him to need extra support. If he needs me to sit with him every year I will. It's not a big issue."

"See, that's what I told him, but you know his pride." Winry said with a sigh.

Riza decided quickly, that the best solution to both men's woes was for the women to disappear for the day and let them spend it just them and the boys. This would let them work it out without worrying about being overheard. She therefore suggested that she and Winry go finish packing up her apartment. Roy agreed it was a good idea, but like sending Al and Mei with Havoc, Roy insisted they have at least Breda come help them.

11:00am

Roy had enjoyed the morning spending time with just his grandsons and pets, but was relieved when Ed finally emerged from his room because Ed had been having a hard time emotionally lately. Ed plopped down on the floor in the living room where Roy and the boys had been playing most of the day so far. "Good morning." Roy said as he smiled at his son.

Ed's only concession to it being day was he had thrown on a pair of jeans, but he was still in his sleep tank and barefoot with his hair flowing around his shoulders. He still looked tired but better than he had at breakfast. "Hey. Where's everyone?" Ed smiled at the boys, Yuery was busy as usual these days with his blocks, Will was playing with a stuffed horse he liked.

"They all abandoned us for various reasons like travel and packing. It's just us until at least dinner. Did you sleep at all." Roy said, as Hayete wandered in and stared in the way Roy recognized as him needing to use the restroom. He had transmuted a pet flap on the backdoor yesterday, and Cobalt and Franklin both seemed fine with using it but Hayete was still insisting on the door being opened for him.

"I slept this morning yeah, I'm gonna go let the dog out and get some juice, I'll be right back." Ed said as he stood back up with a groan. It didn't matter that he was still young, his body felt old some days. He let the dog out and drank a full glass of juice before placing it in the sink, checking on the dog, and returning to the living room.

"Next time Ed, just come knock on my door. It's okay really. Riza understands, she has her fair share of nightmare too." Roy said as Ed sat back down and Roy leaned over to hug him. Yuery noticed they were hugging and came to sit in Ed's lap and pushed between them.

"I don't… I'm not a little kid, I shouldn't need to run to my Dad to help me get through the night." Ed said and Yuery covered Ed's mouth. Slightly muffled Ed added "I think he said this conversation is over."

"I disagree Yuery, this is important." Roy said to his grandson, Yuery frowned in response.

"Daddy's sad Yeye. Sad." Yuery offered with a frown, meaning he was asking why Daddy was sad.

"I'm okay Yu." Ed said as he hugged the boy a little tighter. William noticed them, and crawled over to pull himself into a stand before patting Ed's knee. Ed reached down and pulled the boy up into the hug as well. "You boys certainly know how to make Daddy feel better."

"Makes sense. I always feel better when my boys want to snuggle." Roy said as he hugged the three of them. "Equivalent Exchange. Ed, If you need me, especially today, I need you too."

"I- But today is your birthday Dad and I already ruined it last year, I don't want to keep ruining it." Ed said, slightly muffled.

"Okay, I wasn't going to say this especially not now with everything else you have been through the last couple of months, but… No, Envy ruined this day for me. Probably for life. Maes and I shared a birthday Ed. It's easier to just forget today than to celebrate it." Roy said then pulled away just enough to look Ed in the eyes. "Envy. Ed. Not you. Don't go there. I asked Hughes to interfere with what you boys were doing. I asked him to keep an eye on you. Envy decided to take his life. You did nothing wrong."

Ed nodded, but still looked sad which Roy had expected. His son was one of the most empathetic and guilt driven people he knew. Roy smiled at Ed before adding. "I'm thinking from now on I'm just going to celebrate my birthday a week late and be done with it. At my age birthdays aren't that important anyway."

"Sounds good Dad." Ed smiled, and dropped the subject for now, instead switching topics. "So, you get sworn in next Tuesday right? Are they doing it publicly or just in the Fuhrer's office?"

"It's a public ceremony, and Grumman plans to officially introduce the Council of Twelve at the same time. Riza is on the Council. So is Heidrich. Grumman went and stole both my adjuncts." Roy said with a sigh. "Now I have to find a new one, though I was very pleased with Riza's promotion, she deserved it."

"Yes she did. What happens to the rest of your staff? DO you keep them or are they reassigned"?

"I retain an adjutant and a bodyguard; the rest of the staff is reassigned." Roy stated, "However, at this point it looks like they will be named to Riza's office staff."

"Ah okay, that makes sense." Ed said before frowning. "They aren't trying to promote me again are they?"

"Not yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if they don't before we move forward with the Ishbalan Restoration. I have been assured that you will be transferred East with me while we work on that, Riza too. And our staffs, but I can't promise anyone else for sure."

"I need to finish clearing the Labs, and the state exams are coming up, we already pushed them back once, I didn't want to do so again. Russell is applying."

"I heard. How do you think he'll do?"

"Well, he's a moron but he isn't stupid. He should do well on the test. Hopefully he will then stop this whole pretending to be me." Ed said with a sigh. "Well, I think they are both ready for a snack and I'm a bit hungry myself."

"Very well. Pick a restaurant I'm going to take advantage of my current office staff and have it delivered." Roy said.

Colonel Edward Elric's Office

9:00 am

Edward had debated it greatly, and in the end decided that Winry and Dad were right, bringing the boys into the office should be reserved for days when he wasn't dealing with the labs. Luckily, Dad was able to stagger it so on days when Ed had to deal with the labs, Dad was doing paperwork all day, so he could keep the boys instead.

Ed refused to hire a nanny. He hadn't changed his mind on the subject even with the greater workload and a second child, Winry and Dad agreed for the most part, so they had everything perfectly scheduled. Mondays and Wednesdays the boys came to Ed's office as he reviewed State Alchemist Applications. Tuesdays and Thursdays they came in with Roy as he reviewed and approved paperwork, but had no meetings, and Fridays they went to work with Winry because it was her stocking day and both men were required in weekly meetings.

Today was Monday, so the boys arrived with Ed first thing before almost everyone in the office. Havoc was already there, but the rest of the desks were still empty. A hot mug of coffee awaited Ed on the corner of the desk, next to today's applications.

Yuery was cranky this morning, having been woken at four by William kicking him. William was also cranky, because he had more teeth growing in. With both sons having a bad morning by the time Ed had reached the office he was also cranky, which Havoc could see as soon as Ed came in. Havoc had also worked under Mustang for years, and had learned from Hawkeye that when the boss was cranky, just keep working. Even if the Boss wasn't working himself.

So, Havoc was ignoring the inner office that held the Elrics, and was happily typing along on his own typewriter, soon developing a large stack of paperwork that needed to be signed by the staff, and Yuery screaming in the inner office. William soon joined in the screaming, and Ed appeared in the doorway. "Havoc. Please. Could you run up to the General's office and ask him if he left the blue bag in the car?"

"Yes sir. Is everything alright sir?" Havoc asked as Yuery appeared and attempted to climb his father's leg.

"No it's not, I seem to have forgotten the bag with the medicine in it, and Yuery had a fever this morning, not high enough to bother the doctor, but he's still uncomfortable." Ed replied, sounding very tired.

"Do you need me to watch them for awhile?" Havoc asked as he stood. He would go ask about the bag first, of course.

"No. I'm fine, don't worry, I just need the bag please… and more coffee."

Havoc disappeared and Ed shut the door, barely hearing the arrival of the rest of his staff over the sound of his angry son. Yuery was angry enough that once again, items around the room were warping. Ed pulled at his ponytail in frustration and clapped to set the room right, while William walked around the edge of his playpen yelling in sympathy of his brother. Ed was pretty sure he was going to go deaf if the noise level continued much longer, but he picked back up the angry two year old and smoothed his curly black hair down as he shushed the child. Yuery's large green eyes were brimming with tears, making Ed feel bad for feeling so frustrated.

Finally, Havoc returned, with Riza and Roy behind him, along with the requested blue bag. Roy came into the inner office without bothering to knock and took the toddler from Ed's arms. "Ed, I've told you before, if you're upset he'll get more upset. It is better to just walk away for a minute. I'll calm him, you take care of what you need to."

"What about you Dad? You have meetings and stuff, it's Monday." Ed replied even as he let go and let Roy take the child. Yuery's screams quickly became hiccupped sniffles.

"I'm being sworn in in a few days, they haven't given me anything, they sent everything on to you." Roy replied as Yuery laid his head on Roy's shoulder and started absently petting the medals on his grandfather's coat. Roy took this in stride like everything else.

Roy then dug through the bag and pulled out the fever medication to offer the toddler as he addressed Yuery. "Come now, You can't possibly frown without trying it."

"No Yeye." Yuery whined with a frown.

"Yes, Yuery." Roy replied calmly and offered the cup to the child. Yuery sighed deeply, but took the medicine as instructed. Roy then walked in slow circles around the office as he hummed and Ed sat at his desk reading the files.

"Why did I end up with all of this anyway? I know I'm completely taking over the State Alchemist program, but half of this is about Ishbal budget. Shouldn't that still be going to you?"

"Yes it should, I'm sure that was a mix up. Just separate out the Ishbalan paperwork and I'll go over it when I have him calmed down."

Havoc had watched them for a few more minutes, before he shut the door and instructed the office to stay quiet to keep Yuery from waking up. It reminded Havoc a bit of back when they were all in East City and Yuery had become somewhat a team mascot.

Roy got Yuery to fall back to sleep then laid the child on the couch and sat next to him with a stack of files and began reading through them. Ed continued to sit at his desk and signed his way through his own stack of paperwork. He looked up a few minutes later, to find his Dad had fallen asleep. This was not unexpected, Dad had been avoiding paperwork so long at this point it would have been more surprising if he'd still been awake. Ed tried to rub the sleep from his own eyes as William rubbed his eyes and yawned, Instantly Roy was asking if everything was alright without opening his open eyes. Ed nodded as he yawned again before stepping over and lying on the second couch with William on his chest.

Resembool

Rockbell Automail Outfitters

Granny had brought the box of Hohenheim's Journals up from the basement, and Al had spread them out across the study floor, with Mei beside him. Together, they began by putting the books in order based on the dates on the inside covers.

An hour into the process, Al opened a book ,with a note attached to the inside cover.

Dearest Edward,

I instructed your mother

to ensure you left

These Journals alone

until you were old

Enough to read them.

Therefore, you

Should be about sixteen now.

I know I kept many things

From you, I kept just as many

From your mother. I hope you

Can both forgive me one

Day. Inside these books is the

Truth.

Just remember son, the

Truth is a dangerous thing

And it is never pleasant.

Remember I love you.

P. B. V. N. F. H. E.

03/03/99

Alphonse felt a great wave of anger and grief at these words, not because he wasn't addressed, the date was just a month after Ed's birth. No, he was angry at his father because JUST ONE MONTH after his brother's birth, the man was already planning on leaving their mom. AND YET AL WAS HERE. He had a second child with her, already planning to leave her. What was wrong with that man? He didn't love their mom. He didn't love Ed. He didn't love Al. Al doubted the man had ever loved anyone at all.

Mei hugged him tightly, she knew how badly it hurt for your Father to behave as if you don't matter, all of her siblings did. After a minute Al said. "Well, this is the first one, I think we have them all in order now, how many in all?"

"Thirteen." Mei said. "The rest appear to just be gibberish."

"Okay, set them aside and I'll look over them later." Al replied as he picked up the tall stack of small books. "I'm going to get started on these now." Al sat at the desk as he opened the first book. He didn't read as fast as Ed, but his eyes weren't as practiced either. However, he should be able to read and copy at least the parts of the books that seemed important to ship to Ed. Sending Ed the original copy would just end bad for them all. Ed was too angry to think straight about it, but this could hold answers they truly needed.

"Do you need any help?" Mei asked.

"I don't think so." AL said," I'm sorry,but for now I think maybe it should be just me reading this."

"I understand, these are personal. They are your legacy, and who knows if there's anything dangerous in them?" Mei said with a smile. "Well, the least I can do is get you some tea. I'll be back."

Al nodded absently, still staring at his father's note. It was probably the only physical evidence that either brother would ever receive that their birth father had considered either of them at any point in time. Al was afraid of what he would find in these journals, but he was more afraid of what else could be waiting for them that these journals could have warned them about had they bother to read them.

Al lifted the note just enough to read the note underneath. It was the eldest journal began in 1589 and completed 1590. Four hundred years. Proof in a way, that they were sired by something not quite human. Al shook his head to clear it and opened the book.

1589\. 10. 04.

I would give anything to shed the name given  
to me by the monster who killed them all, but  
I have no other. It shall then be my penance for  
failing to see the truth.

Once, I was only Twenty-Three. I miss that time,  
in a way. However, Master designed to use my  
blood to make a monster. He succeeded. With my help,  
he killed them all. My lack of knowledge is no excuse  
for the events that took every man, woman, and child  
from the Earth.

I don't know where the creature went. I will soon have to  
find the will to search for it, this monster now wearing  
my face. I think I'm going to record it all,  
so that it never happens again.

-Theophrastus Bombastus Von Hohenheim

Several pages were roughly removed between entries, Al assumed Hohenhiem removed pieces he felt were unimportant.


	18. Inauguration Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "What the hell are they doing here?"
> 
> "Edward, if you keep saying things like that the boys are going to pick it up." Winry said, having not noticed what had happened because she and Mei had been in the back of the line.
> 
> "At this point, I don't give a damn Win. I have more important things to worry about than Yuery's language.

Inauguration Day

Parade Grounds Central Command

Inauguration of Lieutenant Fuhrer Roy Mustang

10:00 am

Edward found himself once again standing on the stage as someone was sworn in, this time, however, as the family. He still had to wear his dress uniform, but he was joined by Alphonse and his sons. After a brief debate, Mei and Winry as well Al and the boys were all wearing matching black suits, Mei in a yellow silk dress with Pink and red ribbons in her braids, also served as a representative in her brother's place. Winry was wearing a black dress and her hair back in a low twist. Both Al and Ed wore their own hair in neat braids.

It took more consideration and the agreement to officially announce the engagement before Riza was also allowed to join them. Roy considered it worth the hassle of arguing with Grumman (who had wanted the engagement announcement and dug in his heels until he got it) to have his family on the stage with him. He really wanted his mother there too, but he couldn't keep her spy network safe with her up here…perhaps when he became Fuhrer.

Alphonse had arrived late last night to be sure to be there for the events. Whatever had happened in Resembool Al looked tired and stressed but wouldn't talk about it yet, he said to wait until the celebrations were over and that it would keep. Ed and Roy were both concerned, more so after Mei suggested it would bring negative vibrations to the ceremony, and it would be best to avoid it.

William, who was just a few days shy of his first birthday, was surprisingly well behaved, simply looking out at the crowd in awe while sucking on his pacifier and occasionally smiling. Two year old Yuery was slightly more fidgety, having noticed the way the sun twinkled off of the stars on his grandfather's jacket, he was upset when Roy had stepped away without him. Winry was quick to offer the boy a smile and whispered to him to be quiet and watch the birds overhead. It didn't help that it was December and starting to grow cold in Central.

Roy was sworn in, and his stars adjusted. Edward smiling in the background for the first time in weeks. For no other reason it was all worth it for his eldest to smile again. Roy turned first to his family, and offered a brief nod when both Edward and Riza saluted him, then to his personal team, before turning to the crowd of soldiers and civilians.

He stepped forward to the podium after Grumman gave his speech, ready to deliver his own. "I would like to thank the people of Amestris for giving me the opportunity to serve them, and my beautiful fiancée for standing by me, and my wonderful sons without whom I would be lost. My grandsons, who bring joy to my life. I will do my best to repay your trust with my loyalty and service to the betterment of our people."

Roy stepped back, and the press moved forward as close to the stage as was allowed to get the best angles for their pictures. It was strange in Ed's opinion, that they cared so much for the role. The 520 cens burned a hole in his pocket, reminding him that hopefully one day soon he would have to pass it back to his Dad. He had overheard enough conversations in the last few weeks, that he knew Dad had abandoned his plan to use a firing squad as a form of suicide. Now though, he kept saying that his boys needed him too much to go through with it. He had other ways to ensure they were repaying their acts in the war.

As soon as the press had their fill of photographs, Grumman turned to Roy to say, "So, when will you be moving then?"

"Why in the world would we move? We just bought the house a few months ago." Roy asked. He knew, once he became Fuhrer he would be required to move to the estate but no one said anything about moving before that. Of course he was only the second Lt. Fuhrer in their history, so he didn't really have a point of reference.

"Of course, of course. It can wait until you return from Ishbal." Grumman said in response. "Colonel Elric's promotion is waiting for your return as well."

"My what?" Ed asked, not intending to interrupt until then. He had been told by his Dad before it would happen eventually but he wasn't expecting it this soon.

"Your promotion my boy. I need all the Generals I can trust, but I feel it would be in bad taste to make a minor an general, therefore when you return from Ishbal you will be promoted." Grumman said.

"…Did you know about this?" Ed asked his Dad but Roy looked as confused as he was.

"No. I did not know about any of this." Roy said calmly. "This is not the location. The press is still watching, come. It's time to get out of this crowd."

Edward nodded and Roy led his family through the crowd of well-wishers, making note of the wizards he recognized. He saw Snape, and near by the one who was a cat. He was pretty sure there were more in the crowd, but he didn't know for certain. Ed stiffened as he looked in the direction of an old man and scooped up Yuery who had been walking beside him with a scowl.

"What is it?" Roy asked under his breath.

"Dumbledore." Ed whispered back but said nothing more. He made a point of looking elsewhere as they made their way toward the car.

As soon as the door closed, Ed breathed a sigh of relief. "What the hell are they doing here?"

"Edward, if you keep saying things like that the boys are going to pick it up." Winry said, having not noticed what had happened because she and Mei had been in the back of the line.

"At this point, I don't give a damn Win. I have more important things to worry about than Yuery's language. That old man planning on killing him was out there in the crowd." Ed said in response.

"I-What?!" Winry demanded.

Instead of responding, Ed turned to the bodyguard sitting next to the driver, Havoc. "Old man. Long grey hair, all the way to his waist. Ridiculous purple suit. Glasses. Go find him, alert the soldiers. I want him arrested."

"Yes sir." The bodyguard said and climbed back out of the car. Once the car was empty of strangers, and Breda had taken the guard's place, Havoc began driving.

"What. Happened?" Havoc asked. Ed jumped slightly. He had forgotten, in his worry, that Havoc was not in the inner circle of those who knew the truth. Neither was Breda.

Ed turned to Roy for advice. Roy shrugged. "They have never spilled one of my secrets. Havoc here stayed quiet even when death was the punishment. I think they can keep quiet, and I don't think it would change their opinion of you."

"I…Okay. Havoc. Breda, come inside." Ed said as they pulled up in front of the house. This had become necessary if they were going to keep his sons safe.

11:45

Mustang-Elric Residence

Ed had insisted on changing himself and the boys into more comfortable clothing before they talked. Mei and Winry agreed, and so Roy and Riza waited with Havoc and Breda as the others disappeared. Ed came back alone a few minutes later, dressed in a pair of tan pans and a grey sweater, thick socks on his feet to muffle the sound of his metal heel.

He hesitated in the doorway for a moment, this could change a lot though he hoped the others were as open minded as Roy thought they were. His sons were his, no matter who created them. Ed sat between Roy, who knew everything, and Riza, who knew part of it. "Okay. I need you both to promise you won't repeat this to anyone. Ever. Not even your spouse or lover. Swear."

Both men agreed and Ed took a deep breath. "Two years ago, a little more, I was asked to help out on a case out in the continent, a place called England."

"I remember that." Breda nodded. "You ended up coming home early after you got word you needed to pick up your son."

"Well, that was part of the truth." Ed said with a sigh. "Have you ever noticed Yuery doesn't look like me? Like at all?"

"Well, he's small for his age…but he looks like his mom. We've all seen the photos." Breda said, ignoring Ed's growl at being called small.

"The woman in those photos is an actress hired to take those photos. She was never told why." Roy stated calmly.

"When I was in England, I met that old man. According to their spiritual leaders or something, they had this prophesy that said the only way they could beat the other cult leader was to kill a child. I couldn't let that happen so I got to him first and kept him. "Ed said all at once. "I kept him, gave him a name and a home. A family. He is MY son no matter what, just like Will."

"…You know, that makes a lot more sense. I wondered repeatedly how did Ed conveniently need to be out West when he already was out there . I had just assumed that Ed had a bit of a preplanned detour or something." Breda said.

"Ah man, poor Winry. She don't even know if you make cute kids after all. I assumed that's why she agreed to marry you." Havoc teased.

" What are you on, Havoc? William's a cute kid." Breda argued.

"William is adopted just like Yuery. Before you ask, we are telling Yuery. Eventually." Ed said quietly. "I can't let it get out though, because he's safe because legally he is mine. As far as anyone outside of this house knows he's mine…and Ling. Ling knows."

"I didn't-wait you mean that asshole who interviewed with Armstrong was telling the truth?" Havoc said.

"Again. No one needs to know. Ever. Especially not him. Yuery either right now. Too much else is happening." Roy said firmly.

"Does Winry know?" Breda asked.

"Yes." Ed said. "Hell, she knew about William before I did. Like she met him when he was less than a week old."

"Okay. So then are these England people here to hurt him? They sent for you, so they aren't alchemists so they should be no match for us right? I mean Yuery is protected by being the Lt. Fuhrer's grandson if nothing else, plus Alchemy in a fight." Havoc said.

"Havoc. Breda. Magic is real." Roy said calmly. He knew this was going to be hard to take, but if they were really going to help protect the boys they needed to know everything. "Until three weeks ago, it was illegal in Amestris. And even now it is secret, but It. Is. Real. These people are wizards."

"Shit." Havoc said, and unthinkingly lit a cigarette. Ed casually tapped the tips of his fingers together, not bothering with a full clap. With in half a second the humidity in the room compressed into a ball above Havoc, dumping on his cigarette.

"So no one outside of us knows about this?" Breda confirmed as if Havoc wasn't sputtering next to him.

"No one, and we need to make it stay that way." Ed said. "I know what people say about me behind my back over this. It's a small price to pay to have my sons safe. Because nothing I have told you changes a damned thing. These are MY sons and no one is taking them from me. Win and I could have a dozen kids, and they will be my sons."

Both men nodded, completely agreeing with what he had said about the boys. It changed nothing. Ed had known all along after all, as had Mustang, and those boys had been Ed's all along. Nothing changed, but the danger level. "Again. What do we do about these people?" Breda asked.

"For now, keep them away from the boys and try to find out what they wanted. Snape we know will not move against us. He made some magic bond that will kill him if he betrays us." Mustang said. "We need a plan."

"I'm going to go find them, and find out what they want. I can handle them on my own," Ed said, interrupting before his Dad could saying anything. "I'm taking Havoc with me, but I need you and Al and Mei to stay here in case they are trying to trick us into leaving Yuery vulnerable."

"I don't like it. Perhaps I should go instead." Roy suggested, already standing to move toward the door.

"I'm the one who's dealt with them before Dad. I can handle them." Ed said, also standing and gesturing toward Havoc. "I'm not going in uniform either, it makes the meeting seem less of a threat so maybe I can get some information out of them."

"How are you going to find them?" Breda asked. "I mean, they could have gone anywhere, no one has called in that they caught him."

"I don't have to go looking. They're across the street." Ed said grimly. "I felt them arrive a few minutes ago."

"…I'm not going to even pretend to understand what that means." Havoc said. "I assume its an alchemist thing and leave it at that."

"Why don't we invite them in, and find out what they ant once and for all?" Roy said casually. "That way I can both keep the boys safe and keep you safe."

"I don't want them in this house." Ed said before running a hand through his hair with a sigh. "I'll go get them. Havoc?"

Without another word, Ed shoved his feet into his boots and Havoc followed him out of the house, still hoping into his own boots. Ed sighed again as they walked toward the front gate. Across the street stood the three wizards. Dumbledore was frowning, as he watched Ed's approach. Ed held up a hand to halt Havoc of few feet back, then made his way across the street, stopping just out of arm's reach of the trio.

"What are you doing in front of my house?" Ed said. He intended to invite them in , but he wasn't going to make it easy on them either.

"We have a matter of grave importance to discuss, it is unwise to speak out in the open however. Perhaps we could arrange a secure meeting location?" Dumbledore suggested.

"You will not seek out my son. You will not ask to see my son. You will make no move to remove my son from my home." Edward said with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Agreed. For now." Dumbledore said, and Ed rolled his eyes.

"Come on in then. Just remember, this is a one time invitation." Edward said before leading them to the house. He hated every minute of this. They entered the house and he instructed them to remove their shoes, before leading them to the living room. He had a strong urge to cover up the photos all around the room ,but resisted. He was proud of his family, these people weren't going to change that for him.

Riza had disappeared while Ed was outside, but Roy was still sitting on the couch and Breda on the loveseat. Ed and Havoc joined Roy, Snape sat next to Breda and McGonagall and Dumbledore took the chairs. Everyone was silent for a moment, waiting for the other side to start, before Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Forgive me. I am Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts. These are two of my professors. Minerva McGonagall and Severus Snape."

" Lieutenant Fuhrer Roy Mustang, and this is my son Colonel Edward Mustang-Elric, then there is Major Jean Havoc, and Major Heymans Breda." Roy said as he nodded to each person. "Now why are you watching my house and my family?"

"Straight to the point then." Dumbledore said with a sigh. "It was brought to my attention yesterday, by a member of the Ministry that the Death Eaters are now aware that Harry is alive."

"…Who?" Breda asked. "What?"

"Weird cult people's cult name." Ed shot at him. "Plus what these guys know my son by, because I'm not giving them any information at all about him. He's alive and well, no thanks to the old man there."

"It appears." Dumbledore continued as if Ed hadn't spoken, though he was frowning again. " A Takeshi Zhao somehow caught wind of the child, and brought the information to one of You Know Who's loyal subjects, Lucius Malfoy. Word has since spread throughout their ranks."

"Dammit. That makes sense. He would want something as leverage to get himself somewhere stable. I wonder if Ling knows his brother escaped yet." Ed grumbled. "We should at least warn Mei."

"We, in turn, were forced to inform the Minister that the child lived. He is announcing it later today to raise morale. Takeshi Zhao has joined the ranks of Death Eaters, though no one is officially part of the group at all." Dumbledore said, again ignoring the interruption.

"Okay, so what do you want? You aren't taking my son." Edward said.

"We would like to offer wards to help keep the boy safe, but we also wanted to inform you that the child was in danger." McGonagall said.

"Well that's all well and good, but we are about to move." Ed said with a smirk, before frowning. "And my son has been in danger since this bastard found out he was still alive."

"I simply want young Harry to be safe and happy." Dumbledore replied.

"Bullshit. You told me yourself you needed to let him die to win your war." Ed said calmer than he felt. "So, consider him dead, and stay the hell away from my kids. You aren't welcome here."

"What do you mean?" Snape asked sharply, it was the first time he had spoken, McGonagall looked just as confused.

"I told young Edward here the prophesy. He clearly misunderstood part of it. He acted to protect the boy, and since the child is happy, healthy, and safe, I see no reason to interfere in his upbringing at this time. At some point in the future the boy will need magical training of course, but right now he is perfectly safe right where he is." Dumbledore said, and Ed was once again was strongly reminded of far too many corrupt politicians for his liking.

"Okay. You gave us your warning, and made your threats. You can go now." Ed said, standing to show them out.

"Can we ask what you have been calling him?" McGonagall asked as they stood to leave. They had already uncovered this information but clearly Dumbledore did not want the family to realize that they knew anything.

"No." Ed said. "He is my son. He has been my son, and will continue to be my son. The boy you're looking for was lost the night his parents died. That is all I will say about it."

"One day, he will need to be trained." Dumbledore said again.

"One day he will be trained. At the Xerxes Academy." Roy replied. "There is no need to worry yourselves about his education."

"…We will revisit the subject at a later time." Dumbledore replied, as they swept out of the house. Ed shut the door behind them.

"See what I mean?" Ed said, turning back to Roy. "I did not overreact at the time, and I'm not now. They are dangerous and a threat to my child."

"I agree." Roy said. "We are not going to let anything happen to Yuery, Ed. It's going to be alright."

Breda and Havoc continued to just sit there. It had been a lot to take in, but what it boiled down to was magic was real and threatening their Boss's son. That's all they really needed to understand as far as they were concerned. Yuery and William were both adored by the members of their office, no one was going to let anything happen to the boy without a fight.

Ed found himself not surprised that Takeshi Zhao had managed to find out about Yuery, and that he managed to warn people the boy was still alive. Ling had told him all about Takeshi's attempts on Ling's own children, so it was hardly a shock the man was willing to threaten a child to buy his way into some random group.

Ed would feel much better about the whole thing once they moved again, because perhaps they could find ways to place anti magic traps that would help keep them safe. He was going to have to do some research. Ed was already muttering to himself about looking into it, even as Roy led the others out, and assured them that they were already aware of the possible danger. He noticed a small box on the way back in, and opened it.

Snape had doubled back long enough to place the box of books on advanced spells in their garden where they would find it without Dumbledore's knowledge. He had already given them all of the books used in Hogwarts training, which Ed was most of the way through at this point, along with the limited information available at the library.

He wondered briefly if his father's journals may be of any help in the matter, or if the Flamel name dropping Dante had done was to undermine their research and their family. It wasn't going to work however, they were loyal to each other.

From Journal One by Hohenhiem

1560

01/03/60

I made my way slowly to Xing.

It is all gone, everything.

Destroyed by my blood

And foolishness. I didn't

See what the creature was

Until it was too late.

I cannot die. I tried. I laid

For weeks out in the desert

But I kept waking up. My

Body does not show any

Wear from the ordeal, so

I cannot die. I will dedicate

My life to finding a way.

_T.B.V.H. 23

04/04/60

My mind is clearer now. I need to form a plan

However, I am still very muddled. These

Voices in my head are very loud. I try to

Ignore them the best I can.

I have gone insane, I know. I think

Often that I am hearing my old friend

Aaron. He is gone, but he keeps

Whispering to me.

I suppose this is a fair punishment

For my foolishness, to be subjected

To the voices of those I failed to

Protect. For now, I need a plan.

The voices quiet while I am planning,

So they clearly approve of the idea,

Even if it is insane.

_T.B.V.H. 23


	19. The Painful Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuery was born to save the world even if it killed him. You said so yourself. But his mother died to save him. You love him. Dad and Ji Mu would do ANYTHING to protect him. He's not just a tool.

The Painful Truth

Central Command

State Alchemist Exams

Practical Exams

3:00pm

Fuhrer Grumman, Lt. Fuhrer Mustang, General Alex Armstrong, General Olivier Armstrong, and Colonel Elric made up the panel of judges for the new recruits.

The interviews and tests were conducted by Edward, with Roy and Alex assisting. All of them were present for the practical exams, along with Olivier Armstrong and Fuhrer Grumman. The first of the three finalists was Russell Trigham. He walked into the center of stage and took a piece of chalk from the table. It was the only piece of furniture in the otherwise empty room.

Russell said nothing as he knelt to quickly draw his circle, then placed a handful of seeds inside, and activated the array. Quickly growing out of the floor the stalks of wheat swayed in the wind created by the alchemic reaction. Russell stood back with a slight bow.

"Fascinating." Grumman said cheerfully, "Tell me young man, can you do this with any plant? Should I hand you an apple core for example, how fast would the tree grow."  
"I could produce a fruit baring tree within a few hours sir." Russell said calmly.

"But what use is this to us?" Olivia Armstrong questioned.

"Reconstruction, perhaps." Mustang said quietly, and Ed nodded, still not speaking. As the head of the panel, Ed was not to give his opinions of any candidate until the others had cast their vote, so as not to influence the outcome.

The next candidate was an older man, in his late forties, named Harris Parks. He took another piece of chalk to draw just as quickly, though he chose to write directly on the table instead of the floor. He didn't add to the circle, instead drawing from the materials on hand.

A few tense minutes later, he watched as a handful of daggers appeared behind him, and he had no idea what had happened. The reaction was cut off, and he staggered slightly away as a guard stepped forward to take one of the knives before hurrying back to pass it to the panel of judges.

The final candidate was a boy, no older than fourteen. All five judges stiffened. He had somehow managed to slip passed all the fail safes Ed had created for this test. Before the boy was able to do more than pick up the chalk, Edward stood. "Where is candidate Elderwood?"

"I am the family alchemist. Brother took the tests up until now because there is a new age stop in place." The boy said with a frown.

"I am aware of the minimum age, I set it myself. Again, where is the candidate?" Edward asked, the other four deciding to let him handle the situation.

"He knows the theory, but is not an alchemist himself, that's why I have to do the final for him, but he really did the other two stages by himself." The boy responded.

"You are dismissed. Try again when you are of age." Edward said and sat back down.  
"You were named before you were of age. You don't look of age now! I'm probably older than you." The boy said as the guards stepped forward to remove him. "I have every right to be here."

"No. You don't otherwise you would have shown up as yourself all along, now leave. We are terribly busy with real candidates." Olivier said simply.

After he was gone the others turned to each other, they had hoped for more of a group, but with as careful as they were being with selection and the losses over the last year, it was to be expected that they would have a smaller turnout. Still only twenty had applied. Only five had passed the written exam, three the oral exam, and two the physical demonstration.

"We aren't doing this again until next year right?" Ed said tiredly.

"That's right. I see no reason to change the frequency, nor call you and Lt. Fuhrer Mustang back from Ishval for this, nor do I need to return to Central until the spring meeting." Olivier said.

"I'll have to return for that one as well, thankfully, I'll be able to leave Fullmetal in charge, since General Miles will also have to return." Roy said.

"Anyway. Are we accepting both of them?" Ed asked returning the conversation to the current issue. "I know Russell is flashy, but his alchemy is reliable, his brother, Fletcher is just as talented actually. But underage. Overall, his temperament is well suited to what we are trying to build here."

"We could use him out east." Roy said thoughtfully. "Would you be willing to be his sponsor Colonel?"

"That would put him under my direct command, correct?" Ed asked thoughtfully. On one hand, Russell would be extremely useful for the reconstruction effort. On the other hand, it was uncertain if the other teen would respect Ed's command.

"Yes, it would, though you of course have the option at any time to pass him on to a different command, should you feel he is disruptive or unnecessary to your office." Mustang replied.  
"Okay, I'll take him." Ed said firmly. "What about the other one, Harris Parks? Armstrong would you be willing to sponsor him?" Alex Armstrong hummed thoughtfully for a moment before agreeing, and Grumman called for the pair to return to the room. Normally, they would make them wait for an official letter, however since there were only two candidates left, and Russell would need to prepare for the move east, they felt they should informally welcome them.

"Congratulations!" Grumman said heartily. "You have both been accepted. You will report to your sponsor on Monday to receive your official letter and watch."

"Thank you, sir." Russell said politely, before freezing. "Who is our sponsor? How do we know?"

"I'm your sponsor Tringham. Parks you report to General Alex Louis Armstrong." Ed said.

"Wait, you? Does that mean you're going to be my boss?" Russell asked.

"Yes, at least until your first evaluation." Edward replied calmly. He had taken to mimicking his Dad's tone in professional situations. It was the easiest way for him to slip into the role. Russell nodded politely, he seemed uncertain how he felt about it, but his lack of protest was promising. If all else failed, Ed would just push him off on a different department, though he hoped it wouldn't come to that, besides he would still be in charge of him overall until the returned from Ishval.

The Tringham brothers caught up with Ed just outside of his office, and he wasn't really surprised. He nodded and gestured for them to follow him without a word as he made his way inside. The boys weren't here today, because he hadn't expected to be back in the office until late, which was obvious by the shocked looks on his staff's faces as they seemed to be playing with a crumbled up piece of paper.

"At ease men." Ed said as if they had remembered to salute. He then led the way to his inner office, the brothers right behind him, as he closed the door he added ."Make sure that all of that paperwork is filed before you leave this evening."

Ed went around his desk and sat down, again adopting his father's posture and clasping his hands on the desk in front of him. He finally spoke to the brothers, first inviting them to sit, then adding. "I assume you have questions about your upcoming paperwork and assignment."

"Yeah. Uh, I was hoping to ask about…Fletcher's going to be able to stay with me, right? You know like how you always had Al with you?" Russell began.  
"I wouldn't have suggested you join up if you would have had to leave your brother behind. I understand the importance of family." Ed replied. "Before your aske anything else, let me explain the activity going on around here as it now affects you. We will be moving to the Kappa Provence of Ishval in two weeks. You will be joining us, as a member of my staff. We are to help with the restoration process and help bridge the divide created by the war between our people."

"Wait, so we're all moving? How long are we going to be there?" Russell asked with a frown.

"If everything goes as planned, we should be there for about a year, possibly two." Ed said with a sigh. "You will be allowed to have you family stay with you unless the situation turns hostile though that does not seem to be an issue at this time. Negotiations went well so far, and the effort is being handled by myself, General Miles, and Lt. Fuhrer Mustang."

"General Miles is Ishbalan isn't he?" Fletcher asked.

"Yes, he is." Ed said. "Mustang's Xingese, I'm Xerxian. It doesn't matter to this restoration effort." Ed had decided, and Roy and Al agreed, that since the school would be opening with Al as a principle staff holder, they should announce their legacy since it gave them exclusive claim to the land.

"…You're Xerxian?" Fletcher asked.

"Only known remaining family line, yes. My bastard of a birth father left us that as our legacy." Ed said. "I consider Roy Mustang my only real father though, so please refrain from asking about Hohenheim." The brothers nodded and Ed waited a few minutes before he continued. "Do you have a place to stay until we leave?"

"Uh…Not really, I mean we can work it out, but we just got into town last night. We kind of travel a lot you know how it is." Russell said, and Ed recognized the expression on his face. The stubborn pride that indicated the lack of funds available to the brothers.

Ed pulled out a form from his drawer and began filling it in as he spoke. "I'm assigning you a room in the temporary dorms you'll be able to stay there until we move, there's no point in searching for a place this close to reassignment. I'm also giving you a small advance on your account which will be available to you when your paperwork comes in on Monday… Bring this form with you to the cafeteria and you'll be issued a meal pass for yourself and one guest. "He handed over the three forms which Russell took looking reluctant. "Don't be prideful about this Tringham. This is standard for any new recruit."

"Thank you, sir." Russell said, figuring he'd better get used to it. He saluted Ed as well, and Ed was relieved. At least for now the other boy was going to behave.  
"Oh, and Russell." Ed said as the brothers turned to leave. "Now that you are actually a soldier the punishment for impersonating a superior officer holds a much greater charge. As a warning. So, no more of this playing at being Fullmetal shit, got it?"

"Yes, Sir." Russell said. "Do you know what my name will be sir?"

"No, that's assigned by the Fuhrer. I'll find out at the same time as you." Ed said, as he stood to follow them out. He had already finished all of the paperwork for the day, and he wanted to cut out early so that he could pick the boys up from Winry and let her finish what she needed to do before they left.

As soon as he had made the deal with his Dad, Winry had made a deal with the hospital. She had a practice out of the hospital so that another automail engineer could take over the service while they were out East. Right now, she was in the process of picking her replacement. It would be much easier for her to finish her work without the boys under foot.

Mustang-Rockbelle-Elric Residence

6:00 pm

Al and Mei were hiding out in the study, as they had been every day since they got back from visiting Granny. Ed wasn't stupid, he knew that Al had gotten ahold of some of that Bastard's writings. Ed hoped they were theoretical journals and not personal, but it was hard to say. The truth was Ed didn't want to know. Whatever it was Al was reading, Ed wanted no part of it. He already knew what he needed to know.

So instead of bugging his brother into coming to spend time with him and the kids, Ed ignored them and spent the afternoon, just him and his sons. Now he was preparing dinner, with the boys playing on the floor next to him. Dad, and Winry would be arriving soon, along with Riza. Mei had finally solved the Riza dilemma for the brothers by suggesting, like the names the babies called Roy and Riza, the brothers should simply call her stepmother in Xingese. Since she suggested both brothers had been calling Riza Ji Mu exclusively at home. It didn't matter to them that Roy and Riza wouldn't be married until next summer, she held a permanent place in their lives.

They arrived just as Ed moved the rice from the heat and gave the vegetables one last stir. "Perfect timing." Ed said cheerfully. "Just in time to wrestle the boys into their chairs. Ji Mu, would you go rouse Al and Mei for me? I haven't seen them all afternoon."

"Yes, Ed, that's not a problem." Riza said, as Winry and Roy each picked up a boy to place in a highchair.  
"We are lucky that We get to celebrate Will's birthday before the move. I'm not sure I would want to ask Gracia to travel all that way with the girls by herself." Roy commented.

Ed snorted. "Like you didn't plan the itinerary to ensure we left the week after Will turned one Dad. You plan everything."

"Well, that's true." Roy said with a laugh, as Riza came back in, followed closely by Al and Mei. Both later looked visibly upset. "What's wrong Alphonse? Mei?"

"Ed. We need to talk." Al said sadly, not looking at his brother.

"No, we don't" Ed replied.

"We really do, it's important." Al said.

"You think I'm a fool Al? I know what you've been reading and judging by your expressions it was his personal journals not his research, so no we don't." Ed replied. "Eat before the rice goes cold.

"Ed- "Mei tried instead.

"I. don't. want. To. Know." Ed replied before pointedly turning away from them to ask Winry how things were going at the hospital. He could feel the way Al was staring at him, he knew Al wasn't going to let it go no matter how much Ed begged him to. Everything had been getting better the last few weeks, he was starting to relax slightly. His bastard of a birth father had managed to completely screw up Ed's life again. Damn him.

"Listen Ed, I know you don't want to hear it, but I think you may need to know, that it's important and-" Al started, ignoring the warning looks that their parents were giving him. Ed needed to know this. Al was certain of that. Ed stood and walked out of the room, ignoring, for the first time ever, Yuery's whimper at his father leaving.  
Al sighed heavily, and stood to follow his brother, gesturing for everyone else to stay behind. This was going to be painful, but Ed needed to know. He followed Ed toward Ed's private study, where Ed was sitting at the desk pretending to be busy. Al stepped in and shut the door.

"Look Ed, I read His journals and- "

"NO AL. No. I can't not right now. No."

"You won't ever handle it Ed, but it doesn't change anything!"

"Why can't you just let this go?"

"YOU WERE WANTED! HE PLANNED YOU! I WAS AN ACCIDENT AND MOM KNEW!" Al screamed. "THAT'S WHY IT MATTERS! HE WANTED YOU. He wanted you so bad that he married at least four different women he remade into Mrs. Flamel, and when they couldn't give him you, he just moved on. Mom found out just before you were born, and she still loved him. I don't know why. He didn't know why. But that was it."

"Al…"

"Mom wanted me. We both know that. And maybe it was better he didn't because what he planned… He had you to defeat Father. You were the plan Ed. You were born to save the world even if it killed you."

"Why the hell are you telling me this?" Ed whispered.

"Because." AL said, stepping closer, and risking hugging his brother. "Because Ed. Yuery was born to save the world even if it killed him. You said so yourself. But his mother died to save him. You love him. Dad and Ji Mu would do ANYTHING to protect him. He's not just a tool. Neither are you."  
"I- "

"Neither are you, Ed. I know you better than anyone on this planet. Living or dead. I know. I know ever since that awful woman spoke to you; you've been wondering if you were a terrible mistake." Al whispered now. "You aren't a mistake Ed. We all love you and need you. You were his plan, but mom loved you. You were his plan, but we all need you. You were his plan and you survived it! Now live your life for you."

"It isn't that easy Al." Ed said with a sniff. "I read the letter he left for me. Right after mom died, I found them in mom's dresser. I knew I was planned. I already knew you weren't. I never wanted you to know. I never wanted to touch his journals after reading those letters."

"…You already knew?"

"Why do you think I told you to forget him Al? All those years while we were all alone? Because I was scared that at any time, he was going to come back for me and leave you alone! I couldn't let that happen Al. You're my baby brother. I love you."

"Okay Ed, again listen to me. Nothing he planned matters because you aren't some tool. You are a person. Don't make me go get Dad." Al said.

"I think I might need Dad actually."

"Okay then." Al said calmly, before walking out of the study and back toward the kitchen.

Shuffling and murmurs could be heard through the open door, but Ed stayed where he was as he waited, Dad appeared in the doorway moments later, and seeing Ed's expression immediately rushed over to hug the boy. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Al found His journals and read them. He knows the truth now." Ed said, burying his face in Roy's shoulder. "I am nothing, but a sacrifice and he wasn't wanted at all."  
"Edward Mustang Elric, look at me!" Roy said as he pulled the boy away to look him in the eye. "You are now and always will be my sons. I want you. I love you. And I don't give a damn about the plans of some immortal wannabe god."

"How can Al not hate me Dad?" Ed asked with a sniff. "Everything I did to him, everything he lost because of me. I have been his curse since I was born, and he wasn't even here yet."

"You are no one's curse Ed. What that man chose to do has nothing to do with you. Nothing. I'm going to tell you what my Mom told me." Roy said, as he hugged the boy to him again. "You are so much more than the ones who created you. Just because they gave you life does not meant they get to control your future. You, Edward, are you. Not what your father wanted, or your mother dreamed, you are only you and that's all you ever have to be."

Edward nodded, crying into Roy's shirt. And he was soon surrounded, not just by his Dad's arms, but his brother's and his Ji Mu's and Mei's and Winry's and his sons. They didn't care. They all knew the truth and they didn't care, they loved him just the same. A weight that had rested on Ed's shoulders so long that it had felt like it was part of him shifted. It wasn't gone, because one conversation would never be enough to heal anyone's scars, but it felt lighter somehow, as if the ones he loved were sharing some of the weight.

From Journals 

12/08/60

I met a lovely family in my wandering.

They are from one of the smaller clans, the 

Yao. Hiro has given me hope.

He says the voices are not insanity.  
That he can sense the people inside

Of me that there are thousands of them.

My people are not completely lost to me then, 

But it is even more important that I stop

The creature. He said he was giving me half 

Of the power he stole. It standing to reason that

Means he held onto have the lives. Families

Torn apart for years, held apart since the accident

Have decided I need time to heal mentally before

Serious planning can begin.


	20. Happy Birthday, William Elric

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "So much for keeping them out of the crowd." Ed muttered.
> 
> "I didn't hear you telling her no." Roy replied.
> 
> "Do I look stupid?" Ed groaned. "She may be my Ji Mu but she's still Hawkeye."
> 
> "Ah, she would never hurt you."
> 
> "I didn't see you telling her no either." Ed said with a pout.
> 
> "Yes. However, I sleep next to her." Roy cleared his throat, and intentionally spoke quietly, fearful the conversation would somehow get back to his Fiancée.
> 
> "Not if you piss her off you don't." Ed snorted

Happy Birthday, William Elric

December 3rd, 1915

Mustang-Rockbelle-Elric Residence

10:00am

William's Birthday Party

This would be their last celebration in this house, next week Ed and Roy transferred out East. After that, apparently they were moving to a mansion which made none of them happy. They decided not to dwell on the matter, however, and focus on William.

Like his brother before him, everyone Ed knew showed up to celebrate the child's birthday. Izumi and Sig arrived once the house was already full. Ed glared daggers at his brother, who must have invited them, but otherwise ignored them. It was his son's birthday and he wasn't letting anything ruin it.

Ed greeted the room at large, with Will in his arms, and Winry by his side holding Yuery as well. Al carried out the birthday cake, as they all sang, and Yuery helped Will blow out the candle. They then proceeded to allow the boys to eat enough sugar that their parents would regret it later.

After cake and presents, Ed went around the room allowing everyone to speak to his younger son, but in light of the party crashers at his father's inauguration he wasn't allowing anyone to hold either boy, Roy clearly felt the same way since he kept a hold of Yuery the entire time, Ed also noticed that Roy was wearing his gloves now. He had been whenever they had the boys in public since the wizards approached them that afternoon.

Winry helped clean up as the mess occurred, and Mei and Al walked the edges of the party, officially to pick up messes but in actuality they were watching the Qi. All of them were on edge, and luckily no one really noticed, aside from those who knew them best. Gracia asked what was wrong, when she brought Elicia and Ana over to see William. Izumi approached as well, to see if they needed any help.

Ed refused to speak to Izumi leaving her to his brother as he walked away himself after briefly allowing the boys to wave at her. He would not hurt his sons, but he did intend to separate from her so that the boys never really remembered her. It hurt him to do it, but he couldn't trust her anymore. If he couldn't trust her then it wasn't safe to have her near his children.

Al had tried to talk to him about it. Dad had tried as well. So had Ji Mu. None of them understood, because they hadn't been there. They hadn't heard how that woman had spoken of his mother. Izumi had leaked information to that woman, who knew how much of a risk Dante was to his children but he couldn't let down his guard, until Madame got back to him on the matter. It had been weeks and she was still digging.

Deciding not to think about it anymore, Ed met back up with his Dad and Yuery, and the four of them sat again at the table that had been holding presents, so that Roy could ask if everything was alright. Ed nodded, but then shook his head. He wasn't alright, but he would be. Instead Ed turned his attention to the boys, who were babbling happily to each other. Clearly Yuery had told some sort of joke judging by the way Will squealed laughter and slapped the table while Yu chuckled and looked to the two adults, waiting for them to laugh as well.

"Sorry Yu. I don't speak babble, try again." Ed said. He had been attempting to get Yuery to speak more to William in adult languages. So far he hadn't had much luck, but he wasn't giving up that easily. Yuery then asked to get down and frowned when Roy held him tighter. "Too many grown ups around Buddy. Don't want you squashed."

"Down, Yeye. Daddy. Wan' down." Yuery insisted as he tried to pull Roy's hands apart so he could slip from Roy's lap.

"No, Yuery. Stay put." Roy said in response. William began squirming as well.

"They clearly had too much cake." Ed grumbled. "and candy before that."

"Well, they'll be falling asleep soon then." Roy reasoned.

"Yeah, and then they'll be up half the night." Ed frowned.

"So, they can stay over with Yeye and Nainai." Roy offered with a smile.

"Shouldn't you ask Ji Mu before you suggest that Dad?" Ed asked.

"Ji Mu loves the boys and we both know it." Roy said dismissively.

"You just want to steal cuddle time." Ed said.

"I won't deny it." Roy replied. "Early morning cuddles are the best."

"Sleeping in because your Dad is a masochist who willing steals away your toddlers every morning is the best." Ed replied with a laugh.

"I have to be up anyway, might as well have a pleasant reason."

"Dirty Diapers are pleasant now?" Ed asked with wide-eyed 'innocence'.

"Okay boys, let set a good example for the children." Riza said as she swooped over to the table.

"Ji Mu, Dad says you are taking the boys for the night." Ed said, smiling brightly.

"I don't see why not." Riza replied as she took William from Ed's lap. "Now, the partygoers wish to see the birthday boy, come William, let's make a round for your guests."

"Me too!" Yuery said, reaching for Riza. She smiled at him before gently taking his hand and leading both children away.

"So much for keeping them out of the crowd." Ed muttered.

"I didn't hear you telling her no." Roy replied.

"Do I look stupid?" Ed groaned. "She may be my Ji Mu but she's still Hawkeye."

"Ah, she would never hurt you."

"I didn't see you telling her no either." Ed said with a pout.

"Yes. However, I sleep next to her." Roy cleared his throat, and intentionally spoke quietly, fearful the conversation would somehow get back to his Fiancée.

"Not if you piss her off you don't." Ed snorted, but also lowered his tone, not wanting to argue with anyone, just enjoying the distraction of banter.

"Exactly." Roy said as he stood, he had just noticed Izumi approach Riza and the boys and wanted to handle it before Ed noticed. Ed had noticed, but he trusted Riza and Roy to keep his boys safe. Which was, for him, a huge revelation. He still didn't like relying on anyone else for help with his boys, but he was slowly growing more comfortable with allowing his family to help him.

Roy slid up next to Izumi and quietly spoke so only she could hear him. With a frown she nodded and followed him out of the room after he asked if he could have a private word with her. He led her to his study, and shut the door, before inviting her to have a seat. Once they were both settled around the fireplace he began. "Ed's going to need time Mrs. Curtis. He loves you, and this separation is hurting him too. However, he is feeling deeply hurt and betrayed by this situation. You understand, at least to some extent, that his relationship with his birth father was lacking. I do not know if he ever revealed to you how lacking it actually was… but to learn that your teacher was married to his birth father, and that you had been giving her information about him, betrayed his trust in you. I believe you, when you said you didn't know because Al and Mei both say you are telling the truth and they would know. It doesn't change the end result."

"I never betrayed those boys. I even let them stay and continued to help them after learning what they did. I have never done anything to betray their trust. She has always been Dante Flamel to me, how was I supposed to know that she had any connection to the boys' father?" Izumi replied, clearly feeling just as hurt as Ed for different reasons. Roy was not uncaring to her plight, he knew that she loved his sons and thought of them as her own children, that she had no children of her own, and that she had laid 'claim' to them long before he had ever met them.

His first priority was to his sons, not this woman's feelings, but perhaps he could help both if he handled this correctly. "Do you know why Edward hated his father so deeply?" Roy asked as he stared into the empty fireplace, absently wishing there was a fire.

"Of course, because he abandoned the family just months before their mother died leaving the boys alone. He deeply resented the man, but I always thought some part of him wanted his father to return and offer his approval. Though from what I've heard of their few conversations since Ed was grown it seems he left it to long before approaching." Izumi said, deep sadness for the boys tinged her tone.

"That's part of the story at least. Maybe even most of it. There is one missing piece of the puzzle however, which is the reason he is so angry with you right now." Roy said with a sigh. "Edward…was not an accident. His father had been planning to have Ed for years. He wanted to sire a child that he could turn into a human weapon against his enemies, and he left that information in a letter that Ed found and read when he was five years old. For Ed the worst part wasn't that his father planned to use him as a weapon, it was that his father considered Al not an accident but a terrible mistake that could ruin all of his plans. Again stated in the letter read by a five year old. He may have loved their mother, I wouldn't know, I never met the man. He may have even cared about them after a fashion, but the fact that he not only felt this way but committed it to print and left it to be given to his eldest son when 'the time was right' left a stain on Ed. By telling Dante anything about the boys at all feels like a repeat of their father's behavior to Ed. He needs time to see that it wasn't your intent."

"I had no…He lived in my home for a year and never said…It's a good thing that man is dead or I…" Izumi said, before frowning. "Dante set me up when she revealed this to Edward. She insisted she wanted to finally meet my star pupil who saved the whole damn country, and I fell for it. She wanted to hurt him, and me. I have not spoken to her since that day, but I think I need to go confront her to find out what was going through her head that she would say those things to a child." Izumi said angrily.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Roy had no idea what else to say at this point. Finally, Izumi asked. "You will be in Ishval at least a year, correct?"

"Possibly two." Roy confirmed, as she nodded and they both stood.

"I will stay away until you return to Central, unless he comes to me before that. Thank you…for taking care of those boys. I love them as if they were mine, and I know you do too."

Izumi swooped out of the room and collected her husband before leaving the house, pausing only to hug Al and kiss both babies on the forehead. She looked in Ed's direction, but he looked away with pain filled eyes. Roy came up to him as she left to give him a hug and assure him it was going to be okay. Neither of them believed that, but it was comforting to hear anyway/

London England

Ministry of Magic

Minister Fudge's Office

2:00 pm

Kingsley Shacklebolt had made this appointment under Dumbledore's orders although he had been left waiting longer he would have liked, it had been two weeks before Fudge had been willing to see him. Now that it was actually time to talk to the Minister, he was a bit nervous.

It had been decided that since he was the one who had learned of the child to begin with, and the one who learned of Takeshi Zhao's arrival, it should be him who updated the Minister instead of Dumbledore. Fudge relied heavily on Dumbledore's advice and it would be…unfortunate… if he was given any reason to believe Dumbledore had been keeping secrets.

Kingsley walked into the office, and was invited to sit, after pleasantries were exchanged Kingley took a deep breath before starting. "It had come to the attention of the Department of Mysteries a few weeks ago that the Potter Child was alive. They chose at that time to remain silent on the matter, as he is in a secure location that would be nearly impossible to attain. They then desired to keep this knowledge from any remaining Death Eaters who may seek revenge for the loss of their Master. Two weeks ago it came to their attention that the Death Eaters are aware the child lives and then sought to inform the Auror Department of the situation. It is the belief of our departments that direct contact at this time would be unwelcome, however, it would greatly boost morale to inform the Wizarding Community the child is still alive."

Fudge was silent as he thought about the situation. This could really work in his favor if he made it sound as though they knew all along and hid the child to ensure his safety during the trials. Fudge had won the election because of the disaster of an investigation, he wasn't going to lose his post over this. He was already half forming his press release, when he aske where the child was. Kingsley said the child was being cared for by a high ranking official on the hidden continent. This worked well, they could spin this perfectly, and make the child a folk hero, he could see it now "The Truth Revealed: The Boy Who Lived." Perfect.

Fudge excused Shaklebolt and got to work on his speech, morale was sure to increase with this information coming to light, and secure his place as Minister for a long time. He should write Dumbledore and get his opinion on the matter, after all Dumbledore had been a great help to him so far. This was just the turn around he had needed.

Hogwarts

Headmaster's Office

Early Evening

McGonagall and Snape had gathered for this meeting, both relieved to see whatever had been dragging Dumbledore so close to the edge of collapse seemed to have been pushed aside. Snape knew more than McGonagall about the matter, but he didn't know all the details either, just that an old lover or friend (he assumed loved by the reaction) had died and the Headmaster had taken the news terribly, but he was on the mend now.

The news Harry Potter, now dubbed The Boy Who Lived, reached the evening papers, and there had even been a special reprint thanks to how quickly the papers sold. Snape had brought in a copy of the Daily Prophet. "What a load of rubbish. We knew he'd go for it, but was it truly necessary for him to preen and crow quite that much?" McGonagall said in disgust.

"He wouldn't be Fudge otherwise." Snape said with a sniff. "Either way, it's done now. The Death Eaters will have to move far more carefully now, when they choose to move against the child. Provided they are able to actually find him which is unlikely."

"When the time comes, and we collect the boy, will I have your support." Dumbledore asked the others. "We will need to ensure this castle remains a safe haven for all of our students."

"What will you do should the boy's father decide to not send him to Hogwarts?" Phineas Black asked from his portrait. "By not making a move now, you are allowing them to build leverage against you."

"The people of the hidden continent do not require leverage. It was already a lost battle the moment the boy crossed the border. Should you want to be involved, try making overtures now." Suggested one of the old Headmaster's Marius Dilnn.

"Marius had personal history with those people. Albus understands, he could claim the same." Edna Woodworm proclaimed loudly.

"Enough of this pointless chatter." Dumbledore said quietly. The portraits fell silent. Dumbledore smiled again as he excused the teachers. He really wanted a drink. Which is why he had sent them all away, had ordered the house elves to refuse to bring him alcohol if he called for it. He would make it through this, he had no choice.

No one else knew the entire prophesy, he was the only one who could ensure it was fulfilled. He still remembered the horrible sinking feeling in his stomach when he realized the price of winning would be the loss of this child. He was relieved when the child was gone that night, assumed dead. He was a coward now as he had been young, and was grateful that the choice had been taken out of his hands.

Then it was shoved right back onto him, and right on it's heels he learned of Nick's death, and Albus hadn't known what to do. He has now steeled his resolve. The plan had to continue. No matter the personal price, he had to do what was best for the world. It was his responsibility.

He once again stared at the envelope delivered by Fawkes earlier this month. He had yet to open it, not certain he wanted to know what Nicolas' final thoughts to him involved. He knew sooner or later he would need to open it, but not today, he decided, and swept it back into his drawer. He already knew, had spoken at great length, what he was to do in this situation. He was to carry on as if Nick was still around for as long as possible.

Mustang-Rockbelle-Elric Residence

Late Evening

As Ed had predicted, the boys had stayed up late after being overexcited by the party and overstimulated by the levels of sugar. Roy tried to keep them relatively quiet as he chased them around the living room as the 'tickle monster'. They squealed enough despite his effort to keep it down, that he knew Ed had heard them at least a few times. He also knew that Ed hearing them laugh and yell would help him relax enough to sleep himself instead of coming back down to check on them repeatedly.

He managed to catch Yuery at the same time as William, when Yuery attempted to run past just as Roy grabbed William. Yuery was very protective of his little brother, so he had frozen to yell at Yeye to let Will go, instead getting swept up himself. All of them fell to the floor laughing, Roy being sure to cushion the fall, Riza shaking her head at his antics, before jumping in herself to tickle all three of them once they were down.

The boys laughed themselves into hiccups, as Ed and Winry came in one last time to kiss them goodnight, and remind Roy to brush their teeth before too much longer. Roy waived them off, and returned to chasing the boys, as Ed laughed at them. He briefly considered joining the game, but then he didn't want to interrupt the fun. Plus getting a night off was not common, so they slipped away.

As Roy had promised, he and Riza had stayed up with the boys until they had finally fallen asleep a few minutes ago. The kids (as Roy thought of them) had gone up to bed awhile ago. So long ago in fact that Roy knew they had not actually gone to bed. They had run away and allowed Roy to deal with the sugar fallout.

He didn't mind, he had expected it, and had even asked Riza if she was certain she was alright with it. Had she been overwhelmed, he had fully intended to take the boys to the guest room for the night, because he was going to make this a tradition.

He thought about it over the last week, and realized he had offered to take Yuery for the night for both his first and second birthdays, and intended to take them both when he helped plan the party. Then Roy decided that it would be a good tradition to have, especially in the future when they didn't all live together anymore. Roy wanted it to just be a given that the kids stayed with him after the birthday party.

Now though, he tucked them in gently after laying them down in the crib, and breathed a sigh of relief as he laid down himself next to Riza. She was already almost asleep, so he didn't bother trying to talk to her, instead hugging her close for a few minutes until they both drifted off to sleep.

Al and Mei were leaving in the morning. They were heading to Xing, to finalize the plans on restoring Xerxes and would be updating Ling on all the things that had happened, that could not be said in a letter. Such as the situation with Zhao, who should have been executed months ago, yet somehow was wandering loose, which meant that someone either made a mistake or was a traitor.

Al was still not happy at his brother's complete refusal to read the journals, but he understood. He had learned a lot of unpleasant things about their father this way, but he also learned a lot about the history of their family, and alchemy. Magic as well. Al tried to tell Ed this, and Ed had promptly refused to speak on the subject.

The only concession Ed had given was his agreement to keep the journals while Al was abroad and keep them safe and not damage them himself. Al hoped that eventually, Ed would read them if for no other reason than Ed seemed incapable of having a book in his possession and NOT read it. Until it happened though, Al was pointedly not talking about the man, thinking that it may help his brother begin to let it all go.

The letters Edward burned

Dearest Edward,

There is much I must tell you, and

It is with a heavy heart that I say

I do love you. All three of you, but

That is not part of the plan, and can't

Be allowed to affect the plan.

I intentionally sought out a woman

Who would produce the strongest

Heir possible, because I need a weapon

A plan B in the event my other plan

Fails. It is nearly time now, and I'm afraid

I may have left it too late before allowing

Trisha to conceive. I was uncomfortable

Making her a mother younger, hopefully

That will not ruin the plan. It was not my

Intention to create a second child

When the time comes, I will come

To collect you. Do not worry, Trisha

And Alphonse will be fine. Trisha would

Do anything to protect her children

It is one of the reasons why I selected

Her and sought her out.

I have left this letter with your mother

So that you would have time to prepare

Yourself before I come to collect you.

I know it seems terribly unfair Edward.

The fate of the world rests on you son.

Your Father,

Van Hohenheim

Dearest Alphonse,

I love you dearly. This is one of my

Greatest mistakes. I knew when

Your mother told me you were

Coming this could ruin everything.

We only get one chance to stop this

And you must be far far away when we

Try. Take your mother, go as far from here

As you can. I will find you later.

Van Hohenheim.

My Darling Trisha,

I love you most, more than any of the others

Before you. I cannot bring myself to make you

My new Perenelle therefore I must find a

Different plan to stop this.

Wait for me Trisha, and keep

Our Edward safe. I will return

When I have found a better way.

With all my love,

Van


End file.
